Clifford Law Offices Filed Two More Lawsuits in Buffalo Plane Crash
Press Release, 04/20/2009Clifford Law Offices, a nationally recognized aviation firm in Chicago, along with the Buffalo law firm of Colucci & Gallaher filed two lawsuits today (Tuesday, April 21, 2009), on behalf of the family of Linda and Ron Davidson, a couple who was returning from celebrating their upcoming 40th wedding anniversary when they were killed in the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 on Feb. 12.
The complaint, filed in federal court in the Western District of New York, alleges negligence on a number of counts on the part of the airlines, the aircraft manufacturer and other corporate entities. The complaint alleges a series of failures on the part of the defendants including their failure to install a low airspeed alerter which would have given the pilots earlier warning that the aircraft was losing airspeed.
Clifford Law Offices has obtained summaries of correspondence between the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that clearly indicate that the FAA acknowledged years ago that the installation of low airspeed alerters should be considered for commercial aircraft which would have included the type of aircraft involved in the Feb. 12 crash, a Bombardier Dash 8-Q400.
The NTSB, in this correspondence and in its initial recommendations, referred to 18 incidents stemming back to 1982 where low airspeed alerter systems could have prevented accidents. Subsequent reminders of this problem were sent by the NTSB to the FAA in 2005, 2006 and 2007. The FAA assembled an internal team of experts to review this important safety issue, but no known action has taken place on this safety measure to date. Additionally, the airlines and aircraft manufacturers who are fully aware of this significant safety issue did not take the necessary measures to make this safety feature available to the flight crew of Flight 3407.
These public documents will be made available to the media at a press conference scheduled at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 21, at the Law Offices of Colucci & Gallaher, 2000 Liberty Building 424 Main St., Buffalo, New York, Phone: 716-854-8671. Attorneys for the three adult children of the Davidsons also will be available to speak to the press.
Linda Davidson, 61, was a nurse at Westfield Memorial Hospital. Her husband, Ronald, 66, worked for Aspire which is a service provider for persons with cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injuries and other developmental disabilities. He served in the United States Navy, Second Marine Division, as a Hospital Corpsman until he was honorably discharged. His son, Aaron, is now serving in Iraq. They have two other adult children, Carrie, who the couple had just visited in Los Angeles to celebrate their wedding anniversary, and Andrew who lives in Westfield, New York. They also left six grandchildren.
These lawsuits mark the fifth and sixth cases filed on behalf of family members who lost loved ones in the Feb. 12 crash. Clifford Law Offices and Colucci & Gallaher also filed on March 31 a lawsuit on behalf of the family of Jennifer Neill, a 32-year-old resident of Buffalo, who was killed. She was pregnant with her first child.
Alerter Recommendation Correspondence History
