Mike Andrews of Beasley Allen
Mike Andrews and Cole Portis of Montgomery, Alabama-based Beasley Allen and Paul Mason of Mason Carter in Peachtree Corners, just north of Atlanta, said they have reached a confidential settlement of a lawsuit filed in DeKalb County State Court by the parents of an executive assistant killed when her boss crashed his private plane near DeKalb-Peachtree Airport in October 2021.
The lawyers represent the family of Lauren Harrington. She was traveling with her boss, businessman Jonathan Rosen, who owned and piloted the plane.
“While we cannot ever give the family what they truly want—their daughter—we are hopeful that resolving this case helps by providing our clients answers to the questions they have struggled with regarding the crash,” said Andrews, who specializes in aviation litigation. “We are grateful to have been able to work for such a deserving family and are thankful for their trust in our work.”
Rosen founded a life insurance premium finance company called Entaire Global One and sold it in 2016 to Columbus-based Synovus Financial Corp. He continued to serve as specialty finance division CEO, according to a statement from Synovus. On the day of the crash, he was headed to Houston with Harrington, who was his longtime assistant. Also on board were his 14-year-old daughter and her 13-year-old friend. No one survived. “Their loss will be painfully felt by so many,” Synovus said at the time.
The named defendants include Rosen’s estate and two companies connected to him and the plane. The defense attorney is Jim Strawinski of Strawinski & Stout in Atlanta. Strawinski did not have an immediate response to messages seeking comment. He has a practice focused on defense of insurance, transportation and aviation cases and is also a former U.S. Air Force pilot.
The complaint in the Harrington case in DeKalb County court alleged Rosen was an inexperienced pilot flying an overloaded plane with a new engine and a just-added supplemental fuel tank. It took off, then crashed and exploded into flames that were fed by the extra fuel.
“This plane started life in a different configuration,” Andrews said. “It started with a piston-driven typical aircraft engine and was modified to carry this Rolls-Royce turbine engine, which is significantly more powerful and was a significant upgrade to the aircraft. All the avionics and the flight display, everything in the cockpit was also modified and upgraded. But the way that it was configured, it had a limited weight and carrying capacity. The issue in the case is not only the fact that it appears it was overloaded beyond its takeoff and landing weight, but most of that weight was concentrated aft of the center of gravity of the aircraft. Most of it was in the tail, or at least aft of the center. That dramatically changes takeoff, flight and landing characteristics.”
Andrews said a more-experienced pilot might have been able to accurately calculate the center of gravity and avoid the overload and even possibly corrected once the plane became unstable upon takeoff. But, sadly, he said, the circumstances of the case seem too familiar.
“This is a case that goes back to the importance of being properly trained and current and certified,” Andrews said.
The lawsuit alleged that Rosen had no more than two hours of flight experience on the newly configured plane and had completed only one day of a five-day training program for it.
Lauren Kate Harrington
Julia Helen Smith
Investigator In Charge (IIC): Boggs, Daniel
National Transportation Safety Board
Investigator In Charge (IIC): Boggs, Daniel
The National Transportation Safety Board traveled to the scene of this accident.
Additional Participating Entities:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Atlanta, Georgia
Textron Aviation; Wichita, Kansas
Roll Royce; Indianapolis, Indiana
Algab Holdings LLC
Location: Atlanta, GA
Accident Number: ERA22FA009
Date & Time: October 8, 2021, 13:11 Local
Registration: N128EE
Aircraft: Cessna P210
Injuries: 4 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal
On October 8, 2021, about 1311 eastern daylight time, a Cessna P210N, N128EE, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident at Dekalb-Peachtree Airport (PDK), Atlanta, Georgia.
The pilot, and three passengers were fatally injured.
The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
Review of PDK airport security surveillance video revealed that the airplane lifted off about 1,000 ft down runway 21 in a nose-high attitude.
The airplane then rolled left and reached an inverted attitude before it impacted nose first beside the runway.
The debris area was compact, and the ground scars were consistent with the airplane impacting in a nose first, right wing down attitude.
The fuselage came to rest upright, oriented on a magnetic heading of 245°.
The engine remained attached to the firewall through the tubular engine mount and was heavily fire damaged.
The propeller was separated from the engine at the propeller gearbox.
One propeller blade remained attached to the propeller and the four other blades fractured off at the hub.
The cabin and instrument panel were consumed by the postimpact fire.
Both wings were separated from the fuselage and sustained significant postimpact fire damage.
The tail section was thermally damaged.
Flight control cable continuity was partially established due to multiple separations that displayed signatures consistent with overload separation and postimpact fire damage.
The elevator trim tab actuator was observed in the thermally damaged wreckage with both actuator rods separated.
The inboard actuator rod measured 1.5 inches extended which correlated to 5° tab down.
The outboard actuator rod measured 1.7 inches extended which correlated to 5° tab up.
Both trim tab actuator rods were free to rotate.
The six-seat, high-wing, retractable landing gear airplane, serial number P21000133, was manufactured in 1978.
It was originally equipped with a reciprocating engine; however, it was converted to a RollsRoyce 250-B17F/2 turbo shaft 450-horsepower engine, equipped with a five-bladed composite MT propeller.
Review of maintenance records revealed that the conversion was completed on July 19, 2021.
At that time, the airframe had accumulated about 1,390 total hours and the engine had accumulated 2.3 hours since overhaul.
The airframe and engine were retained for further examination.
Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information
Aircraft Make: Cessna
Registration: N128EE
Model/Series: P210N
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built:
Operator:
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None
Operator Designator Code:
Meteorological Information and Flight Plan
Conditions at Accident Site: VMC
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: KPDK,998 ft msl
Observation Time: 12:53 Local
Distance from Accident Site: 0 Nautical Miles
Temperature/Dew Point: 26°C /18°C
Lowest Cloud Condition: Few / 3700 ft AGL
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: 4 knots / , 300°
Lowest Ceiling: None
Visibility: 10 miles
Altimeter Setting: 30.08 inches Hg
Type of Flight Plan Filed: VFR
Departure Point: Atlanta, GA
Destination: Houston, TX
Wreckage and Impact Information
Crew Injuries: 1 Fatal
Aircraft Damage: Destroyed
Passenger Injuries: 3 Fatal
Aircraft Fire: On-ground
Ground Injuries:
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 4 Fatal
Latitude, Longitude: 33.879326,-84.298784 (est)
Those who may have information that might be relevant to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation may contact them by email witness@ntsb.gov, and any friends and family who want to contact investigators about the accident should email assistance@ntsb.gov. You can also call the NTSB Response Operations Center at 844-373-9922 or 202-314-6290.
The owner / pilot only had TWO HOURS make and model time and had only completed ONE DAY of a five day checkout class???? And was flying passengers????
ReplyDeleteThere are business executives / non-aviation professionals out there who fly their own airplanes safely and professionally every day and are - in the collective - an asset to aviation. But there also exists a subset of ayholes who think their business savvy translates to the skill / judgement / experience needed to be a good pilot. That subset is BAD NEWS and kills lots of innocent people. If the allegations of 2 hours of experiences and only one day of training are true, Mr. Rosen truly deserves a warm spot in hell.
I knew Mr. Rosen. He was an arrogant ass. He thought he could get away with anything he wanted including stealing from investors at his numerous companies. Unfortunately, he usually got away with it in the courts. In this case, he didn't have enough muscle to overrule the law of physics. He got what he deserved. Too bad he had to take innocents with him.
ReplyDelete