Taken from RTE
04 November 2005
Court awards woman €500,000 in air case
04 November 2005 20:05
A woman who sued the manufacturers of a light aircraft in which her husband and father both died has been awarded over €500,000 in the High Court.
Jessica Murray of Carton Lane, Sligo, took the action on her own behalf and on behalf of her other dependents.
The mother-of-two sued Rans Inc of Kansas which allegedly supplied the Rans S-12 D-MLAB aircraft. Her husband Fionn and her father Holger Schiller perished in the crash at Gibraltar Point in Sligo Bay in 1998.
It is claimed the crash probably occurred as a result of a fuel cap becoming detached during flight and damaging a propeller blade located behind the aircraft's wings, resulting in a loss of control of the aircraft.
The case came before the High Court for an assessment of damages.
The defendant did not make an appearance in the proceedings but in correspondence the company did dispute the claims in relation to the cause of the plane crash.
The company said that it had no funds to fight the action. The family will now have to seek to execute the court judgment in Europe or Kansas where it is believed the company may have assets.
The accident investigation report can be read here
http://www.aaiu.ie/AAIUviewitem.asp?...g=ENG&loc=1280