The suit was filed on behalf of Sebastian Grewal's father, Joshua Grewal, by Ontario-based lawyer Stewart Albertson and Portland-based lawyer Matt Clark. It alleges that the plane's pilot, Brian Michael Lee, was negligent in flying the plane when it crashed into the El Mirage dry lakebed. The suit also claims that there was video footage of the crash, but LAFD officials ordered it to be destroyed. Sebastian Grewal and Lee, 47, a Los Angeles Fire Department firefighter-pilot, were both killed in the crash.
"We're in the early stages of investigating," Clark told the Daily Press on Wednesday. "We haven't even seen the wreckage, we haven't seen the video. We've filed a claim with the city (of Los Angeles) and they were unable to get information from the Fire Department. When you can't get people to give you information, sometimes you have to do it through the discovery process, which we're in right now."
According to the legal complaint obtained by the Daily Press, Lee and other LAFD employees were at the lakebed on the morning of June 9 "at an LAFD event." The plane was reportedly transported by LAFD equipment "with the knowledge and approval of one or more LAFD employees," and the plane was flown with non-LAFD passengers with this same knowledge and approval.
"Lee acted in the scope of his employment with (LAFD) when he negligently operated the subject airplane on the day of the crash," the suit claims.
The complaint, which names Lee's estate, the plane's co-owner Jeffery Moir, the city of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Fire Department as defendants, further alleges that a video recording captured the plane crash but the video was covered up by LAFD employees at the scene.
"... The lower-ranking employee was instructed by the higher-ranking employee to take actions that would ... (prevent) the video from being discovered or made known to ... authorities," the lawsuit says.
LAFD officials said the department does not comment on pending litigation.
A June 13 Daily Press article cited LAFD officials saying Lee "was not on duty when the plane experienced problems and crashed during the camping trip." Another Daily Press article from June 9 says authorities at the scene said other "off-duty L.A. Fire Department personnel witnessed the crash and rushed to the victims' aid. They were performing CPR on both Lee and the boy when San Bernardino County emergency personnel arrived."
The red Grumman AA-A1 plane was co-owned by Lee and Moir, according to Federal Aviation Administration records, and the suit claims that Lee and Moir "had duties as owners to maintain the ... airplane in a condition for safe operation." The suit alleges that the plane "was not in a condition for safe operation ... and it suffered from a mechanical malfunction and/or power loss resulting in the crash and the fatal physical injuries sustained by (Grewal)."
It continues to allege that Moir was also an LAFD employee and "a licensed aircraft mechanic" who had installed the engine and propeller that were on the plane at the time of the crash. Moir "negligently installed the ... engine and/or its propeller, and/or negligently performed maintenance on the ... plane in breach" of his duties as a pilot, the lawsuit claims.
The incident is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board, and no probable cause report for the crash has been released. NTSB officials said final reports usually take 12 to 18 months to be filed.
"I've lost my only son," Grewal said Wednesday afternoon. "I'm devastated, I'm angry. We're trying to get to the bottom of what caused my son to die."
Story and comments: http://www.vvdailypress.com
http://registry.faa.gov/N9454L
NTSB Identification: WPR14FA239
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, June 09, 2014 in El Mirage, CA
Aircraft: AMERICAN AVIATION AA-1A, registration: N9454L
Injuries: 2 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On June 9, 2014, about 1115 Pacific daylight time, an American Aviation AA-1A, N9454L, collided with the dry surface of El Mirage Lake, in El Mirage, California. The airplane was co-owned, and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The commercial pilot and passenger sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was destroyed during the accident sequence. The local personal flight departed from the El Mirage Lakebed, about 1100. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.
Members of the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) had organized an off-duty recreation day at the lakebed. The group was comprised of about 12 people, and included family and friends. A combination of activities was planned, including camping, along with flying both the accident airplane and powered paragliders. The accident pilot was a fire helicopter pilot, assigned to the air operations division of the LAFD.
About 0930, the pilot departed with one of his daughters in the accident airplane to perform a sightseeing flight in the local area. The flight departed from the lakebed in a southerly direction in light and variable winds, and lasted about 15 minutes. A short time later he flew his second daughter on a similar flight, for a similar amount of time.
For the third, and accident flight, the group requested that the pilot perform a "low-pass" over the north shore of the lakebed, where everyone had assembled.
According to witnesses, the flight departed again to the south, but this time the wind had picked up such that a left crosswind existed during takeoff. The flight progressed as before, and after about 15 minutes the airplane approached the group from the northwest, at a low altitude for what was presumed to be the low-pass. The airplane flew over the group about 100 feet agl, and after passing initiated a climbing right crosswind turn to the south. Witnesses reported that as the airplane turned from crosswind to downwind, the bank angle became "excessive," with some witnesses assuming the pilot was either positioning the airplane to land, or returning for a second low-pass. The airplane did not level after the bank. The nose then pitched down, and the airplane descended into the ground at a 45-degree nose-down angle.
The accident site was located on the western side of the lakebed, at an elevation of 2,841 feet msl.
The lakebed was comprised of smooth, hard-packed soil, with the first identified point of impact including a series of 2-inch-deep ground disruptions. Ground scars continued 10-feet further, on a bearing of 320 degrees magnetic, and included debris consisting of green wingtip navigation lens fragments and the nose landing gear strut. The engine starter ring and alternator belt were located adjacent to the scars. The propeller, nose landing gear, shards of red wing tip navigation lens, along with the pitot tube (mounted at the left wingtip, underside) were a further 30-feet down range.
The main wreckage came to rest about 160 feet beyond the first impact point. The cabin area rested upright on a bearing of 170 degrees and sustained crush damage from the firewall through to the passenger seat bulkhead. The flight controls were fragmented, and all flight instruments were detached from the panel. The tail section was intact, upright, and undamaged. The engine mount had detached from the airframe, with the engine remaining partially attached to the firewall via control cables and hoses.
Both wings had separated from the center spar, and remained loosely oriented perpendicular to the main cabin. The right wing was inverted, with the outboard section of the leading edge crushed at a 45-degree angle towards the trailing edge of the wing tip. The left wing came to rest leading edge up, and sustained leading edge crush damage along its entire length. Both wing spar fuel tanks were breached, and the odor of automotive gasoline was present at the site. The magneto switch was observed in the both position; additionally, the fuel selector valve was in the right wing tank position. The carburetor heat, throttle, and fuel mixture controls were in the full forward position. The flap actuator was set to the fully retracted flap position.
All major components of airplane were accounted for at the accident site, and the airframe was free of any indications of bird strike.
Brian Michael Lee, pilot
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, June 09, 2014 in El Mirage, CA
Aircraft: AMERICAN AVIATION AA-1A, registration: N9454L
Injuries: 2 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On June 9, 2014, about 1115 Pacific daylight time, an American Aviation AA-1A, N9454L, collided with the dry surface of El Mirage Lake, in El Mirage, California. The airplane was co-owned, and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The commercial pilot and passenger sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was destroyed during the accident sequence. The local personal flight departed from the El Mirage Lakebed, about 1100. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.
Members of the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) had organized an off-duty recreation day at the lakebed. The group was comprised of about 12 people, and included family and friends. A combination of activities was planned, including camping, along with flying both the accident airplane and powered paragliders. The accident pilot was a fire helicopter pilot, assigned to the air operations division of the LAFD.
About 0930, the pilot departed with one of his daughters in the accident airplane to perform a sightseeing flight in the local area. The flight departed from the lakebed in a southerly direction in light and variable winds, and lasted about 15 minutes. A short time later he flew his second daughter on a similar flight, for a similar amount of time.
For the third, and accident flight, the group requested that the pilot perform a "low-pass" over the north shore of the lakebed, where everyone had assembled.
According to witnesses, the flight departed again to the south, but this time the wind had picked up such that a left crosswind existed during takeoff. The flight progressed as before, and after about 15 minutes the airplane approached the group from the northwest, at a low altitude for what was presumed to be the low-pass. The airplane flew over the group about 100 feet agl, and after passing initiated a climbing right crosswind turn to the south. Witnesses reported that as the airplane turned from crosswind to downwind, the bank angle became "excessive," with some witnesses assuming the pilot was either positioning the airplane to land, or returning for a second low-pass. The airplane did not level after the bank. The nose then pitched down, and the airplane descended into the ground at a 45-degree nose-down angle.
The accident site was located on the western side of the lakebed, at an elevation of 2,841 feet msl.
The lakebed was comprised of smooth, hard-packed soil, with the first identified point of impact including a series of 2-inch-deep ground disruptions. Ground scars continued 10-feet further, on a bearing of 320 degrees magnetic, and included debris consisting of green wingtip navigation lens fragments and the nose landing gear strut. The engine starter ring and alternator belt were located adjacent to the scars. The propeller, nose landing gear, shards of red wing tip navigation lens, along with the pitot tube (mounted at the left wingtip, underside) were a further 30-feet down range.
The main wreckage came to rest about 160 feet beyond the first impact point. The cabin area rested upright on a bearing of 170 degrees and sustained crush damage from the firewall through to the passenger seat bulkhead. The flight controls were fragmented, and all flight instruments were detached from the panel. The tail section was intact, upright, and undamaged. The engine mount had detached from the airframe, with the engine remaining partially attached to the firewall via control cables and hoses.
Both wings had separated from the center spar, and remained loosely oriented perpendicular to the main cabin. The right wing was inverted, with the outboard section of the leading edge crushed at a 45-degree angle towards the trailing edge of the wing tip. The left wing came to rest leading edge up, and sustained leading edge crush damage along its entire length. Both wing spar fuel tanks were breached, and the odor of automotive gasoline was present at the site. The magneto switch was observed in the both position; additionally, the fuel selector valve was in the right wing tank position. The carburetor heat, throttle, and fuel mixture controls were in the full forward position. The flap actuator was set to the fully retracted flap position.
All major components of airplane were accounted for at the accident site, and the airframe was free of any indications of bird strike.
Sebastian Joshua Grewal
~
~
Sebastian Joshua Grewal
Sebastian Joshua Grewal
No comments:
Post a Comment