U.S. Government

In May 2004, student pilots Ford Cederblom and Damon Lott were killed when their plane crashed into a California mountain. An investigation revealed plane crash was caused by faulty instructions from an air traffic controller. Ford Cederblom and Lott were flying from Arizona to Carlsbad, CA with four other planes from their flight school. One had a call sign ending in "4PA" - the same ending as the call sign for Cederblom and Lott's plane. An air traffic controller ordered "4PA" to decrease altitude. The instruction was meant for the other plane, but acknowledged by Cederblom and Lott. Ford's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the U.S. Government claiming the Federal Aviation Administration's employees were negligent for not using the full call sign and for not recognizing that the wrong plane accepted the instruction. A U.S. District Judge awarded the Cederblom's a $3.4 million settlement. (Sep-01-06) [SPOKESMAN REVIEW]

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