Often the most devastating losses can result from a plane crash, yet many times the cause of the crash is a mystery. Aviation accident law is, as you can imagine, somewhat of a specialty, covering both major airline crashes as well as general aviation crashes such as small private planes, hang gliders, charter flights, helicopters and hot air balloons, to name a few. Both negligence and product liability may come into play following an airplane crash which resulted in death and serious injury. Investigations may prove there was no pilot error involved, and, if this is the case, then the evidence will need to be meticulously sifted through in order to determine whether the plane suffered a specific defect in design or manufacture.
The reality is, planes generally don’t malfunction unless there was some type of equipment error and jet planes can actually be considered among the safest and most reliable modes of transportation. Smaller aircraft tend to perform less consistently, usually because of faulty maintenance. If you’ve been injured or had a loved one killed in a plane crash, you will need an attorney who can peruse the flight logs and the planes maintenance records when performing an investigation of the accident. Your lawyer becomes an investigator in cases involving airplanes, and will work closely with the National Transportation Safety Bureau in an effort to zero in on the agency at fault and prove liability.
Crash Statistics
While it is considered to be over four times safer to fly in an airplane than to drive a car, airline accidents usually have much more tragic consequences. If you discount terrorist threats, your chances of being in a commercial airplane crash are one in 7 million, meaning you could fly every single day for hundreds of years and avoid being in an accident. Because of greatly improved aviation safety standards, even if you are in a plane crash, your chances of survival are much greater than in the past.
Causes of Aviation Accidents
As stated, pilot error and faulty equipment are the two primary causes of aviation accidents, however in some cases the accident and subsequent injuries are caused by violations of the FAA, structural issues of the aircraft, negligence of airline employees or air traffic controllers and dangerous or defective manufacture or design of aircraft. Pilot error is often divided into three sections: straight pilot error, weather-related pilot error and mechanically-related pilot error.
Injury Causes and Types
Obviously when a huge metal object falls from the sky and hits the ground there will be injuries and death to the people inside. Some of the more common injuries are actually the result of luggage or items which fall from the overhead bins onto passengers during an airplane crash. Even absent a crash, turbulence, flaws in bin designs or employee negligence can also cause objects to fall form the overhead bins and strike passengers, causing minor to serious accidents. Other crash victims will sustain permanently life changing injuries including burns, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries and minor to severe disfigurement.
The Expertise of Your Mississippi Airplane Attorney
A knowledgeable airline attorney will have access to medical professionals and expert crash witnesses which will enable them to help you through your injuries, allowing you to obtain the compensation you need and deserve. Airplane attorneys are also well-versed in the FAA regulations which must be strictly followed by airlines and their pilots. Your attorney will ensure the evidence in your case is properly preserved, and will determine the exact cause of the accident as well as whether there was negligence involved. If there was, in fact, negligence in your airplane accident, you may also be entitled to punitive damages. Don’t hesitate—call our law firm so you can put all your energies into healing and getting your life back on track.