Aviation

An investigation is ongoing regarding the crash of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Flight PK-661 that fell from nearly 14,000 feet killing all aboard Wednesday (Dec. 7, 2016). Most of the 47 people were burned so badly that their remains will be sent to labs for DNA testing for identification. Although some media reports indicate that the left engine of the ATR-42 aircraft malfunctioned in flight and exploded, damaging a wing, the PIA has not confirmed…

A nation, indeed the world, mourns the loss of nearly an entire professional soccer team in the horrifying crash into a mountainside as the aircraft apparently ran out of fuel on its way to a South American tournament in Columbia, just five miles from the airport. Electrical failure also is being investigated in the early days as experts search for clues to the cause of the crash. One moment images are flashed across the television…

A “litany of errors” is what the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) today (Oct. 18, 2016) called the probable cause of a small plane that crashed in Akron, Ohio, last year killing all nine aboard, including seven executives from Florida. ExecuFlight 1526, a charter company based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, crashed into an apartment building on November 10, 2015. No one on the ground was injured. NTSB investigators told the board that the pilots did…

Four major airlines, including American, United and Southwest, were fined Friday (Aug. 26, 2016) by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for allegedly misleading passengers about the compensation they provide when problems arise, including being bumped from flights. Clifford Law Offices is often contacted by people after they are told outdated information on what they can recover after they suffer lost baggage or get bumped from flights -whether it be mechanical issues or other non-weather…

Clifford Law Offices represented 18 families who were victims of the Turkish Air crash of Flight 1951 at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam on Feb. 25, 2009, that killed nine passengers and crew members. The most recent commercial jet crash at Dubai International Airport is eerily similar – with 300 people miraculously escaping with their lives, sprinting on the runway after the Emirates plane reportedly exploded after landing. Emirates is the Middle East’s largest airline. Six…

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a video that highlights the crucial role that procedural compliance plays in commercial aviation safety. The nine-minute video, released Dec. 3, 2015, uses findings from several commercial airplane crashes to show how deviation from standard operating procedures can initiate a chain of events that can lead to devastating consequences for innocent people. “Aviation flight operating procedures are developed and refined to provide repeatable steps for safely flying a…

A business jet carrying seven people and two pilots crashed into an apartment building this afternoon (Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015) reportedly killing everyone on board in a fiery crash while on approach to Akron Fulton Airport in Ohio. Several witnesses said they saw the aircraft clip electrical and telephone wires before hitting the apartment building and then careening into an embankment. A second building in the area, believed to be a home, also was damaged…

A vigil is being held tonight (April 7, 2015) for four of the victims who belonged to the same church in Bloomington-Normal and flowers are everywhere around town and around the campus in honor of seven men who died in a tragic plane crash early this morning, all part of the Illinois State community. All of the men who died are described as loving husbands, fathers and leaders in the community and their loss is…

A tragic plane crash involving a Cessna 414 occurred just outside Bloomington, Illinois, Tuesday morning (April 7, 2015) when seven people aboard were killed when the aircraft crashed just short of the airport. Numerous media outlets are reporting that six people were aboard as well as the pilot, all returning late last night from the NCAA championship basketball game in Indianapolis. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has confirmed the incident and the National Transportation Safety…