Philadelphia Jury Awards $89 Million To Plane Crash Victims

Philadelphia, PAA jury from Philadelphia Common Pleas Court awarded $89 million in compensation on Tuesday to family members of those killed in a plane crash in 1999. Only one person survived the crash when the plane went down shortly after refueling in Youngstown.

According to the 4/07/10 edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the plane was a six-seater Piper Cherokee built in 1968. Documents were brought forth at trial showing that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found in its preliminary report that the Cherokee was near its maximum weight capacity—with most of the weight distributed towards the rear of the plane—when it lifted off the ground. The uneven weight distribution reportedly made it difficult to operate the aircraft.

However, legal counsel for the plaintiffs brought forth a claim that the engine was outfitted with a faulty carburetor. The manufacturer of the engine, Lycoming Engines, based in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, was allegedly long aware of the defect but had failed to notify the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Killed in the crash were Lendon Pridgen, 53, and his stepson Anthony Cipparone, 15, both of Collegeville; Pridgen's friend and fellow chemist at SmithKline Beecham, Kenneth Tubman, 47, of Lower Providence; and Daniel Diggen, 56, of Chester, Maryland. Tyler Johnson, 15, the only survivor, was severely injured.

Johnson was among the recipients of the award, which came at the conclusion of a two-week trial after a decades-long tour through the court system. The 11-member jury awarded the survivor and the estates of those killed in the plane accident $25 million in compensatory damages and $64 million in punitive damages.

The jury found that the manufacturer of the plane's engine had concealed information about the faulty carburetor, which was found to be the cause of the crash.

While plane crashes of commercial airliners grab the headlines, so too do plane crashes involving smaller aircraft. To that end an improperly maintained or mechanically-unfit aircraft that results in unnecessary death or injury can garner compensation rivaling larger accidents.