Jury selection began yesterday at the Edgartown courthouse for an upcoming Dukes County superior court trial stemming from a June 2005 plane crash at Katama Airfield.
The plane’s pilot, Alec Naiman, and his passengers, Jeffrey and Jessica Willoughby, are suing Cessna Aircraft Company, claiming that the accident was the result of faulty rails on the pilot’s seat. Cessna will argue that the crash was due to pilot error.
All three of the plane’s occupants have been deaf since birth. The flight was part of an annual Deaf Pilots Association “fly-in,” where deaf pilots from around the country gather in one location and take daily trips to nearby airports.
The Hon. Cornelius J. Moriarty 2nd will preside over the trial, which is scheduled to start March 12 and is expected to last four weeks. The trial will be unusual in several respects: to accommodate Mr. Naiman, who is in a wheelchair, it will be held across the street from the courthouse, in the selectmen’s room at the Edgartown town hall. Because all three plaintiffs and some of the witnesses are deaf, interpreters will also be on hand.
According to eyewitness accounts, on June 23, 2005 Mr. Naiman flew a 1979 single engine Cessna from Plymouth Municipal Airport to Katama Airfield, with student pilot Mr. Willoughby and Mr. Willoughby’s teenage daughter Jessica as passengers. Mr. Naiman was preparing to land the Cessna when a biplane taxiing down runway apparently forced Mr. Naiman to abort the landing.
Mr. Naiman pulled up the plane abruptly and attempted a go-around. Instead, the plane stalled and fell at least 50 feet, according to eyewitnesses.
All three people in the airplane sustained broken legs and other injuries. According to the plaintiff’s damages statement Mr. Naiman suffered a traumatic brain injury and is wheelchair bound with minimal use of his lower extremities.
Monday morning, Judge Moriarity and the nine lawyers representing both sides gathered to begin selecting a panel of 14 jurors for the trial. About 50 jurors were brought in to the courtroom to begin the process of choosing a jury, and the court will continue to bring in 50 jurors a day until a jury is empaneled.
As many as 100 witnesses could be called, including people from 20 different states and Oak Bluffs and Edgartown police officers and firefighters.
NTSB Identification: NYC05LA106.
The docket is stored in the Docket Management System (DMS). Please contact Records Management Division
Accident occurred Thursday, June 23, 2005 in Edgartown, MA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 05/30/2006
Aircraft: Cessna 172N, registration: N5118D
Injuries: 3 Serious.
[ THIS REPORT WAS MODIFIED ON JUNE 10, 2008 ]
The pilot of a red Waco biplane was back-taxiing on runway 3, a 3,700-foot-long, 50-foot-wide, turf runway. At the same time, a group of airplanes were approaching the airport as part of a pre-arranged Deaf Pilots Association fly-in. The pilot of the Waco stated that prior to the back-taxi he announced his intentions on the common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF), did not hear a response, and did not observe any traffic in the area. About one-third down the runway, the pilot of the Waco observed an airplane on final approach for runway 3. The pilot of the Waco attempted to contact the airplane on final approach, but heard no response. The pilot of the Waco then taxied off the runway and waited until the landing airplane rolled past him. The pilot of the Waco announced his intentions on the CTAF, heard no response, and resumed the back-taxi on runway 3. About two-thirds down the runway, he observed another airplane approaching runway 6, and he again cleared runway 3 in case the landing pilot decided to land on runway 3. The second airplane subsequently landed on runway 6. The pilot of the Waco attempted to contact both pilots that landed, but heard no response. The pilot of the Waco again announced his intentions on the CTAF, heard no response, and resumed the back-taxi on runway 3. As the Waco approached the runway threshold, the accident airplane was on short final approach for runway 3, and began a go-around. During the go-around, the nose pitched up, the airplane stalled to the left, and impacted the runway. A passenger in the accident airplane reported that the accident airplane and Waco were nose to nose near the runway threshold. Another passenger in the accident airplane reported that the accident pilot panicked at the sight of the Waco. The pilot of the accident airplane was hearing impaired, and could not hear the stall warning horn.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during a go-around, which resulted in an inadvertent stall and subsequent impact with terrain.
[THIS REPORT WAS MODIFIED ON JUNE 10, 2008]
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