Aviation

For families whose lives are forever changed by an aviation disaster, the pursuit of accountability extends far beyond the courtroom. In an interview with Lawdragon, Tracy A. Brammeier, partner at Clifford Law Offices, reflects on her work representing victims of some of the world’s most devastating aviation tragedies, the responsibility that comes with that work, and how civil litigation helps drive meaningful safety improvements. Over the course of her career, Tracy Brammeier has played a…

Clifford Law Offices Partner Tracy A. Brammeier joined aviation attorneys, regulators, academics, and industry leaders from around the world as a panelist at the 13th Air Law Conference in Rome, Italy, in June 2026. Tracy Brammeier participated in the conference’s session, “Focus on Artificial Intelligence in Aviation: Regulation, Operations and Liability,” which explored how artificial intelligence is shaping the future of aviation through evolving regulatory frameworks, operational applications, and emerging liability issues. The panel examined…

Tracy A. Brammeier, Partner at Clifford Law Offices, spoke at the American Association for Justice (AAJ) Annual Convention in Chicago. In her presentation titled “Pre-Impact Terror and Fright,” Tracy Brammeier examined a deeply significant and often misunderstood aspect of aviation litigation: the emotional and psychological trauma passengers experience in the moments before a crash. Drawing on years of work as Liaison Counsel in the Chicago federal litigation arising from the 2019 crash of a Boeing 737…

Robert A. Clifford, founder and senior partner of Clifford Law Offices, an internationally recognized aviation plaintiffs’ attorney, commented on the Tuesday, June 16, 2026, late-night crash into a Texas highway, which killed one of the six people on board and sent the others to the hospital: “The NTSB certainly will be involved in this tragedy, examining the circumstances surrounding the landing of this aircraft as well as the performance of the pilots and the appropriateness…

Clifford Law Offices has earned recognition in the Chambers USA Guide 2026, receiving rankings in the following categories: USA Nationwide: Transportation: Aviation: Litigation: Mainly Plaintiffs Illinois: Litigation: Mainly Plaintiffs The 2026 rankings recognize Clifford Law Offices’ longstanding work in complex plaintiff litigation at both the state and national levels. Since its founding in 1984, the firm has built a reputation for handling catastrophic injury, wrongful death, and aviation cases involving significant legal, technical, and factual…

Day 2 of the NTSB Public Hearing on the November 4, 2025, UPS cargo Boeing MD-11 jet crash that killed 15 and injured 23 more people saw Boeing staff admit that the failed aft pylon spherical bearing should have been categorized as a Principal Structural Element (PSE) during the original MD-11 FAA certification process decades ago. Boeing also admitted that their subsequent Continuing Operational Safety (COS) program failed to identify that PSE deficiency and the…

Boeing’s Safety Review Board (SRB) for the second of 10 prior MD-11 aft pylon bearing failures concluded in 2007 that an undetected aft pylon bearing failure could cause damage to the aft pylon lugs that keep the engine attached to the plane; however, based on information provided at today’s NTSB hearing on the UPS cargo jet crash, Boeing may not have advised the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or operators of this potentially catastrophic aft pylon…

Bradley M. Cosgrove, partner at Clifford Law Offices in Chicago, who filed the first wrongful death lawsuits in Kentucky regarding the November 2025 crash of a UPS cargo jet, is in attendance on the first day of National Transportation Safety Board hearings alongside some of his clients. “The NTSB’s Preliminary Report and early hours of its Public Hearing show that Boeing, UPS, and ST Aerospace (aircraft maintenance provider for UPS) MD-11 engine pylon structural safety…

The families of several victims who were injured or killed in the November 2025 crash of a UPS cargo jet shortly after takeoff from Louisville, Kentucky, were in attendance at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) hearing on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Washington, D.C., along with dozens of others attending, who were shown videos and photos in the introductory remarks. Many chose to stay in a private room set aside for the grieving families,…