Result: $6,172,000
Helicopter Crash
Alameda County Superior Court
June 18, 2002
The City of Livermore and Wings for Charity, Inc. agreed to sponsor and promote the 1995 Livermore Air Show. Tri-Valley Helicopters paid a concessionaire fee to offer sightseeing helicopter rides as part of the event. The plaintiffs, David Dixon Sr. and his wife, Ellen, paid for one of these rides. During the flight the helicopter ran out of fuel, and the novice pilot botched a forced landing. In the ensuing accident, Mr. Dixon was killed and Mrs. Dixon was seriously injured.
The heart of this case rests on the catastrophic mismanagement of fuel by the City, the helicopter operator, and the pilot. Refueling aircraft is not a casual operation; it is governed by statute and requires trained personnel. Exercise of due care at any point in the management of fuel during the air show would have prevented this accident entirely.
Aircraft, unlike automobiles, often have sophisticated tanking arrangements; how the fuel is moved and balanced often requires multiple interconnected tanks. The flow itself can be switched from tank to tank by the pilot, but sudden movement of fuel can dramatically change flight characteristics and has caused crashes in the past.
It is essential for a pilot to know precisely how much fuel is in each tank in order to devise exact calculations for an accurate flight plan. As a result, a fuel operator's role, aside from dealing with the danger of working with a hazardous fluid, has the added responsibility of ensuring that each tank is filled with a known amount of fuel. California Fire Code requires specific fueling arrangements for helicopters in such a setting.
The City of Livermore failed to inspect and supervise this dangerous activity and was found negligent.
