Aviation Accident Causes: Air Traffic Control Errors
There once was an air traffic controller in Chico, California, who had to work alone because no other controller could stand him. One year, on Christmas Eve, he made an alcohol-aided decision to shut the tower down early — while forgetting that there was a plane on approach in the fog. He only learned of his mistake when the lone survivor of the crash began pounding on the tower door, planning to kill him.
In spite of the fact that the controller caused a tragedy costing innocent lives and the loved ones they left behind incalculable amounts of harm and anguish, the FAA merely transferred this air traffic controller to another airport.
To be fair, this kind of gross negligence and stupidity is not involved in most air traffic control-related accidents. More often, the real causes are stress and fatigue. Tired from being overworked, ground and radar air traffic controllers become susceptible to making simple but deadly mistakes that cause planes to crash. Stress can lead to similarly tragic results.
Over the last four decades, attorneys at the Bay Area law firm of O'Reilly Collins have handled hundreds of aviation accident cases for people in California and across the United States. Dozens of these cases involved air traffic control errors.
Experience matters a great deal here because air traffic control is regulated by the FAA. This means that the people harmed in these accidents are actually suing the federal government and that their lawsuits must be filed in federal court. What's important to know about federal court is that it is generally an unfavorable place for plaintiffs to try their cases.
Our attorneys are comfortable in federal court and have successfully represented numerous clients in federal aviation litigation.
To learn more, contact our lawyers online or call our San Francisco Peninsula rea law offices from anywhere in the United States at 888-696-5371 (toll-free).
