New lawsuit filed in fatal 2022 Whidbey Island plane crash
Sep 22, 2023, 8:01 AM | Updated: 8:06 am
FILE - A U.S. Coast Guard boat and Kitsap, Wash., County Sheriff's Office boat search the area near Freeland, Wash., on Whidbey Island north of Seattle, Monday, Sept. 5, 2022. Representatives for all but one of the nine passengers killed in a seaplane crash near Washington state's Whidbey Island are suing the flight’s charter operator and aircraft manufacturer, saying the companies are responsible for the victims’ deaths. The three lawsuits, filed Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023 in King County Superior Court, say the companies are responsible for the victims’ deaths, The Seattle Times reported. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Stephen Brashear, File)
A new lawsuit has been filed over 2022’s floatplane crash into Whidbey Island’s Mutiny Bay, following three other lawsuits that were filed in late August.
All ten people aboard a seaplane that crashed off Whidbey Island died last Labor Day Weekend when the plane went down.
More on the Whidbey Island plane crash: NTSB pushing for more thorough inspections after plane crash off Whidbey Island
Representatives of the victims allege in one lawsuit the crash was “entirely preventable” and that the aircraft should have been inspected and maintained more thoroughly.
The latest suit comes from the widow of Jason Winters, the pilot of the De Havilland Otter. Three previous lawsuits were filed against the operators and manufacturers of the seaplane.
According to the Seattle Times, until now, a lawsuit has been filed by relatives of all the other people on board except Winters.
The September 4, 2o22 crash into Mutiny Bay killed nine adults and a child.
The previous lawsuits, filed August 22, holds that Renton-based Northwest Seaplanes, De Havilland Aircraft of Canada, Viking Air Limited, Friday Harbor, and several other aviation companies are liable for damages in the crash.
A preliminary investigation from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found a component of the plane’s horizontal tail had come apart, leaving the pilot with no control.
Jennifer Homendy, the 44th member of NTSB, is requesting the FAA and its Canadian counterparts to require all operators of de Havilland Canada DHC-3 planes to inspect a device in the tail that came apart in the plane that crashed.
“The potential for a catastrophic loss of control of another airplane warrants immediate and mandatory action,” Homendy said. “Our recommendation is that they look at the horizontal stabilizer actuator lock ring and make sure that it’s in place and secure.”
Approximately 65 of these planes operate in the U.S., including many of them in the Puget Sound region.
The lawsuits all allege that the defendants should have maintained and inspected the aircraft and had a duty to ensure a safe flight.
The companies named in the suit have not yet publicly responded.
A statement was released from SGB, the law firm representing the families of the victims:
Out of respect for the families who continue to grieve their loved ones, we are limiting our remarks on this case but can refer you to the attached complaint. We appreciate your understanding.
