May Be Indicative of Carrier-Specific Problem, Says Nation's Leading Aviation
Law Firm
NEW YORK, Dec. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The fatal landing of Southwest Airlines
(SWA) Flight 1248 at Chicago's Midway Airport in a snowstorm last night is
strikingly similar to at least one other runway overrun accident involving
Southwest, and may be indicative of a carrier-wide operational problem,
according to attorneys and pilots with the aviation law firm Kreindler &
Kreindler LLP (http://www.kreindler.com). The previous incident occurred at
Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, CA, on March 5, 2000, injuring several people on
the ground.
"While the investigation is ongoing and the specific cause in the Midway
accident is not yet determined, it was the direct responsibility of the
Southwest flight crew to safely land the 737 aircraft or make the decision
that a safe landing could not be accomplished," said Daniel O. Rose, a partner
at Kreindler who is also a highly trained pilot. "The crew, as do all crews,
had the option to either abort the approach or divert the plane and passengers
safely to another airport. Does this suggest a pattern in SWA's flight
operations?
"In the Burbank crash of a 737-300, injured parties successfully claimed
that SWA fosters a culture of expediency, cost savings and an aggressive 'get
the plane down' approach that, in combination, compromised passenger safety,"
said Mr. Rose, who was involved in the Burbank litigation. "In that incident,
it was determined that the SWA flight crew failed to abort an unstable
approach. The aircraft approached too high, too fast and too steep. The
flight crew was warned by the onboard warning system, yet proceeded with a
dangerously out of limits approach and failed to abort the landing when it was
clear they were unable to stop on the runway."
Mr. Rose indicated that, as a cost-savings method, SWA had also decided to
disconnect an automatic braking system, which would have stopped the aircraft
on the runway in Burbank. As at Midway, the Burbank aircraft ran off the
runway, broke through the airport barriers, 20 feet tall steel blast fences,
and ran onto Hollywood Way, a busy multi-lane road, crashing into a car and
injuring its occupants. Kreindler was the lead attorney in the case on behalf
of the 20 families involved in the Burbank crash.
"No less important is the fact that an especially high level of caution is
required whenever severe weather that could compromise a safe landing is
obvious and when runway conditions deteriorate," said Marc S. Moller, an
aviation attorney and partner at Kreindler & Kreindler. "Weather doesn't
cause accidents; people do. The fact that other aircraft safely landed last
night before Flight 1248 and that the runway condition was reported as 'fair'
would seem to suggest that there was something different about this plane's
approach and landing. The 737-700 involved in the Midway crash should have
had the auto brake system installed and, if used, that should have stopped the
aircraft, given a normal and stable approach by the flight crew. Yesterday's
crash is not the first in bad weather that should never have happened."
Originating from Baltimore-Washington International Airport last night,
the landing of SWA's Boeing 737 killed at least one child on the ground and
seriously injured several others as the plane overran the runway and plowed
onto Central just south of 55th Street adjacent to Midway Airport.
About Kreindler & Kreindler LLP
Founded in 1950, Kreindler & Kreindler LLP (http://www.kreindler.com) is
nationally recognized as the first and most prominent aviation law firm in the
nation. With offices in New York and Los Angeles, the firm has been the
leading plaintiff legal counsel on hundreds of aviation cases, including major
ones such as the September 11 terrorist attacks, Pan Am Lockerbie Flight 103,
Korean Airlines Flight 007, and American Airlines Flight 587, and many cases
of small private and commercial crashes. The leading legal textbook in the
aviation field, "Aviation Accident Law," and a standard legal treatise, "New
York Law of Torts," were authored by members of the firm. The firm has
handled many cases stemming from weather-related accidents, including World
Airways Flight 30, Boston, MA (runway overrun due to ice); USAir 405, New
York, NY (icing on takeoff); and Continental 1713, Denver, CO (icing on
takeoff).
Marc S. Moller: Kreindler law partner who has represented thousands of
victims of commercial and general aviation disasters, and litigated accidents
involving single-engine, multi-engine, helicopter, corporate jet and military
equipment for more than 25 years. He is presently the Plaintiffs' Liaison
Counsel for all passenger and ground victim tort litigation arising from the
September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and is an internationally recognized
expert in aircraft litigation.
Daniel O. Rose: Kreindler law partner specializing in litigating airline,
general aviation and military crash cases, as well as other complex products
liability and negligence cases. Mr. Rose served in the United States Navy as
a carrier-based attack pilot including service in Operation Desert Shield. He
is a multi-engine commercial and instrument rated pilot.
Law Firm
NEW YORK, Dec. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The fatal landing of Southwest Airlines
(SWA) Flight 1248 at Chicago's Midway Airport in a snowstorm last night is
strikingly similar to at least one other runway overrun accident involving
Southwest, and may be indicative of a carrier-wide operational problem,
according to attorneys and pilots with the aviation law firm Kreindler &
Kreindler LLP (http://www.kreindler.com). The previous incident occurred at
Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, CA, on March 5, 2000, injuring several people on
the ground.
"While the investigation is ongoing and the specific cause in the Midway
accident is not yet determined, it was the direct responsibility of the
Southwest flight crew to safely land the 737 aircraft or make the decision
that a safe landing could not be accomplished," said Daniel O. Rose, a partner
at Kreindler who is also a highly trained pilot. "The crew, as do all crews,
had the option to either abort the approach or divert the plane and passengers
safely to another airport. Does this suggest a pattern in SWA's flight
operations?
"In the Burbank crash of a 737-300, injured parties successfully claimed
that SWA fosters a culture of expediency, cost savings and an aggressive 'get
the plane down' approach that, in combination, compromised passenger safety,"
said Mr. Rose, who was involved in the Burbank litigation. "In that incident,
it was determined that the SWA flight crew failed to abort an unstable
approach. The aircraft approached too high, too fast and too steep. The
flight crew was warned by the onboard warning system, yet proceeded with a
dangerously out of limits approach and failed to abort the landing when it was
clear they were unable to stop on the runway."
Mr. Rose indicated that, as a cost-savings method, SWA had also decided to
disconnect an automatic braking system, which would have stopped the aircraft
on the runway in Burbank. As at Midway, the Burbank aircraft ran off the
runway, broke through the airport barriers, 20 feet tall steel blast fences,
and ran onto Hollywood Way, a busy multi-lane road, crashing into a car and
injuring its occupants. Kreindler was the lead attorney in the case on behalf
of the 20 families involved in the Burbank crash.
"No less important is the fact that an especially high level of caution is
required whenever severe weather that could compromise a safe landing is
obvious and when runway conditions deteriorate," said Marc S. Moller, an
aviation attorney and partner at Kreindler & Kreindler. "Weather doesn't
cause accidents; people do. The fact that other aircraft safely landed last
night before Flight 1248 and that the runway condition was reported as 'fair'
would seem to suggest that there was something different about this plane's
approach and landing. The 737-700 involved in the Midway crash should have
had the auto brake system installed and, if used, that should have stopped the
aircraft, given a normal and stable approach by the flight crew. Yesterday's
crash is not the first in bad weather that should never have happened."
Originating from Baltimore-Washington International Airport last night,
the landing of SWA's Boeing 737 killed at least one child on the ground and
seriously injured several others as the plane overran the runway and plowed
onto Central just south of 55th Street adjacent to Midway Airport.
About Kreindler & Kreindler LLP
Founded in 1950, Kreindler & Kreindler LLP (http://www.kreindler.com) is
nationally recognized as the first and most prominent aviation law firm in the
nation. With offices in New York and Los Angeles, the firm has been the
leading plaintiff legal counsel on hundreds of aviation cases, including major
ones such as the September 11 terrorist attacks, Pan Am Lockerbie Flight 103,
Korean Airlines Flight 007, and American Airlines Flight 587, and many cases
of small private and commercial crashes. The leading legal textbook in the
aviation field, "Aviation Accident Law," and a standard legal treatise, "New
York Law of Torts," were authored by members of the firm. The firm has
handled many cases stemming from weather-related accidents, including World
Airways Flight 30, Boston, MA (runway overrun due to ice); USAir 405, New
York, NY (icing on takeoff); and Continental 1713, Denver, CO (icing on
takeoff).
Marc S. Moller: Kreindler law partner who has represented thousands of
victims of commercial and general aviation disasters, and litigated accidents
involving single-engine, multi-engine, helicopter, corporate jet and military
equipment for more than 25 years. He is presently the Plaintiffs' Liaison
Counsel for all passenger and ground victim tort litigation arising from the
September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and is an internationally recognized
expert in aircraft litigation.
Daniel O. Rose: Kreindler law partner specializing in litigating airline,
general aviation and military crash cases, as well as other complex products
liability and negligence cases. Mr. Rose served in the United States Navy as
a carrier-based attack pilot including service in Operation Desert Shield. He
is a multi-engine commercial and instrument rated pilot.
