Florida Judge Turns Back on Tragic Airbus Plane Crash
Miami, August 26, 2009 In Florida court, U. S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke granted dismissal of the TAM plane crash case in spite of a partial Tam Airbus settlement and significant discovery on behalf of the plaintiffs’ legal team. On the basis of this one Florida judge’s opinion, the cases of all of the foreign plaintiffs were dismissed, as well as that of the U.S. citizen who also lost his life in the plane crash.

On July 17, 2007, Tam Linhas Aereas Flight 3054, a scheduled domestic flight from Porto Alegre Brazil overran the runway at Congonhas International Airport in Sao Paulo Brazil, crashing into a warehouse and fueling station, resulting in the death of 181 passengers, 6 crew members and 12 individuals on the ground. The plane was an Airbus A320, a variant of the same Air France (Flight 447) plane that crashed this summer en route to France, that killed 216 passengers and 12 crew members.

The Brazilian Safety Ministry determined that the plane’s manufacturer, Airbus, should have provided alarms warning the pilots that the braking system was failing; and that TAM failed to properly train its pilots, who did not act correctly in the plane crash emergency. The plane crash was judged to be the result of multiple system failures.

The next step will be an appeal in the Florida courts, according to the law firm of Masry & Vititoe, which explains that “an appeal has a broader scope than a ruling by a single judge.” Masry & Vititoe’s long experience in wrongful death cases is not limited to plane crash cases.
Masry & Vititoe associates Podhurst Orseck will file an appeal in order to continue pursuing the case against Defendants Airbus, Airbus North America Customer Services, Goodrich and IAE International Aero Engines whose products and services played a part in the disaster. The likelihood of the decision’s reversal is increased because the Florida Court of Appeals will want to examine the summary dismissal of a U.S. citizen’s case, as well as the foreign cases attached to it. Masry & Vititoe is optimistic about moving forward to find justice for the plaintiffs.

About Masry and Vititoe
The landmark firm of Masry and Vititoe has a long history of winning cases for victims of wrongful death, negligence, and personal injuries. As in the Hinkley case on which the movie “Erin Brockovich” was based, the firm is known for pursuing the rights of individuals who have suffered injury. They represent thousands of injured persons nationally and internationally; and on their behalf have fearlessly combated and prevailed against some of the world’s largest corporations.

When looking at track records, the biggest question of safety in the Bombardier Q400 seems to be the failure of the landing gear to retract. Airworthiness directives in the archives refer to this issue as “fatigue failure of the nose landing gear electrical harness” although when gear retraction failed in 2007 on a Scandinavian Airlines plane, the cause of the failure was described as “hydraulics actuator top eyebolt was separated from the actuator.”

Of course in the Buffalo Crash, the landing gear issue did not come into play.

Significant icing may have been THE problem. It may have been icing that crippled the plane, period. It may have been a salvageable situation. It may have been a crisis situation that nine out of ten pilots could have handled–or 1 in 100.

Or it may have been one of several factors.

The Buffalo flight apparently slowed enough to lose lift.

When the stall-warning system angled the plane’s nose down to regain speed, instead of following the proper procedure–lowering the nose to get out of a stall–the captain pulled back on the controls and added power.

Pilot training is being discussed as a factor in the crash. Or was it as James Fallows postulates a “tailplane stall?”

Nasa Tailplane Stall Video

However speculation about what happened is simply a logical exercise. The NTSB investigation is ongoing as the FBI, NTSB, and FAA examine the flight data and the world waits for an answer. What is not a logical exercise is allowing Bombardier Q400s to continue flying in icy conditions when there are two issues that need addressing:

Icing.

Training.

At the very least, Bombardier Bombardier Q400s should be grounded in icy weather until the results are out.

Hoover Dam Crash Victims Retain Jim Vititoe of Masry and Vititoe
LAS VEGAS NEVADA, Feb 22, 2009- Families and victims of the deadly Hoover Dam tour bus crash have hired famous California Attorney Jim Vititoe to represent them. If Jim Vititoe sounds familiar, it’s because he is the President of Masry and Vititoe, the firm that successfully handled the famous Hinkley water contamination case profiled in the movie Erin Brockovich.

The crash which took seven lives occurred 27 miles south of the Hoover Dam on January 30 at 4 pm. The bus was returning a group of Chinese tourists to Las Vegas from the Grand Canyon. A tour guide and six Chinese tourists were killed in the crash; the driver and nine others were injured. Fifteen of the seventeen passengers were ejected through the windows.

NTSB lead investigator Peter Kotowski told reporters, “We know [the driver] was distracted by that door…the door was ajar, the door was open” and the driver, Han Dong of Rosemead, Calif. “indicated he was blinded by sun glare” before he lost control. The bus veered into the right shoulder and Han Dong overcorrected before losing control, crossing the median and overturning.

Vititoe is a veteran litigator and has handled major bus accidents lawsuits, although he said, “This is one of the worst I’ve ever seen. It’s unfortunate that our government hasn’t taken some action requiring mandatory seatbelts in buses. If, in fact, seatbelts had been used, I don’t think there would have been anywhere near the severity of injury that we see here.” Vititoe explained that “this is a case where negligence is involved. The driver being distracted could be a target of legal action, along with the bus manufacturer and the tour company.”

About Masry and Vititoe
The Masry and Vititoe firm defends the rights of the victims of wrongful death, negligence, and personal injuries in mass transit accidents such as airplane, bus, helicopter and train crashes. As in the Hinkley case on which the movie “Erin Brockovich” was based, the firm is known for pursuing the rights of individuals who have suffered injury. They represent thousands of injured persons throughout the country, from Hawaii to the East Coast, and internationally; and on their behalf have fearlessly combated and prevailed against some of the world’s largest corporations, including Fortune 500 companies, public utilities and oil companies.

For Details, Contact:

Masry and Vititoe Attorney Michael Killackey
Law Offices of Masry and Vititoe
5707 Corsa Ave., Second Floor
Westlake Village, CA 91362
Phone: 818-991-8900 or 800-561-5500
Fax: 818-991-6200
Website: http://masryvititoe.com
Email: new at masryvititoe.com

in the news
Attorney James Vititoe is representing the 17-families–seven killed and ten others injured –in the tour bus crash 20-miles north of the Hoover Dam.

Vititoe is still sorting out legal and financial issues for the tourists. The NTSB investigators anticipate that it may be a year before the final accident report is completed.

in the news
Los Angeles attorney Jim Vititoe who is representing the passengers and families of 17 people involved in a tour bus crash said he is concentrating on sorting out both legal and financial issues for the Chinese tourists, as hospital bills mount for those still hospitalized. 15 of the 17 passengers were thrown out the windows in the crash.

The license of DW Tour & Charter, of San Gabriel, Calif.,the charter bus company involved in the fatal crash was suspended Monday because its liability insurance has lapsed.

Wang Xinping, Deputy Consul General of The People’s Republic of China in San Francisco, and Zhu Cheng Rong, assistant chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration attended a media briefing on the crash Thursday at the Hilton Garden Inn.

For those individuals following the Tam case: “Scores of plaintiffs suing over Brazil’s deadliest airline crash have settled with TAM Airlines and the plane’s lessor, Pegasus Aviation IV Inc., and intend to direct their claims against the companies that manufactured the plane and its components.”

“To view more of the LAW 360 press release”

What: TAM Express flight 3054 (Airbus A320) en route from Porto Alegre to Sao Paulo
Where: Congonhas airport
When: 1850 (2150 GMT) on Tuesday
Who: 186 passengers and crew plus assorted on ground
Why: wet runway conditions; unfit unfinished runway; reverser (and other) issues on plane. These and other reasons are in contention.

Almost 200 Feared Dead in Air CrashOriginal article 2007/07/18 “

For Details, Contact:

Law Offices of Masry and Vititoe
5707 Corsa Ave., Second Floor
Westlake Village, CA 91362

Phone: 818-991-8900 or 800-561-5500
Fax: 818-991-6200
Website: http://masryvititoe.com