Pilots Wife Sued Over Crash

[Big Tudor]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/england/newsid_2069000/2069574.stm

Ray Cochrane has launched legal action against the wife of the pilot. Surely this is setting a worrying precedent.

[Low-Pass]

Sue the company? Fair enough (though I do tend to agree with Flat Spin). But sue the dead pilot's wife? I don't remember the findings of the accident but even if it was pilot error (the favourite when they don't really know what happened), how could you be so insensitive? Perhaps someone can represent the four-legged families of horses that die on the racetrack.

[activewaypoint]

:mad: I cannot believe it.......if this is actually true, I do hope Mr Cochrane is refused carriage by any self respecting Captain of any aeroplane anywhere on any grounds that can be legally dreamed up. It is appalling, words fail me.:eek:

[pprecious]

Cochranes solicitors have reportedly said that their client is willing to settle out of court..

A couple of questions here;

1) What use is the insurance provided by the Aircraft Operators?

2) Why has it taken so long for the case to be brought, call me cynical but have they had to take all this time due to too little evidence?

I have never seen the AAIB report on this one, so I am assuming that they are still working on it.

And finally, what stops this being extended to the pilots of larger airliners?

My condolances and sympathies are with the family of Patrick Mackay.

[canberra]

ray cochrane has probably got no choice in this matter. from what i heard on the news hes suing the dead pilots wife and the sheikh who owned the aircraft. im not a lawyer ,thank god! but as far as i can deduce he would have to sue the widow because she would have been the inheritor of his estate. the accident report has been released, it was released early last year and the result was pilot error. apparently he hadnt flown that type of aircraft before. to the person who said that no pilot should fly ray cochrane, get a life.

[chinny]

Call me an old duffer but I fail to understand why cochrane needs to double sue!!!
I agree with lo-pass. In the thread from Big T it also has an article about the postumous award for Captain Mackey.Depending on the ins and outs of the case pprecious has a valid point about being open to all sorts of liabilities.
:(
I hope and believe Mrs Mackey gets and deserves all the support from her and her hubbies friends.
:mad: Disgraceful Cochrane!!!!

[incipientspin]

It's a sad day when things come to this....
Below is a link to the AAIB report
http://www.aaib.dft.gov.uk/bulletin/feb01/gbmnt.htm


:mad:

[flipped]

This subject is also being discussed in the 'Reporting Points' section of this forum :

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=57854

There are a few possible explanations from a legal view point to this action there.