Fatal Piper Crash in West Virginia

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Update

Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court, seeking $50,000 in damages, Pawel Jakub Batura filed a four-count suit claiming wrongful death and negligence on behalf of the estate of Stanley and Monika Niemiec casualties of the Jan. 29 crash. Defendants are Chicago-based American Polish Aero Club and Wesvin Inc., the FAA-registered owner of the aircraft. The suit claims Aero Club negligence on the following points:

• failure to properly inspect the engines;
  
• failure to perform adequate pre-flight preparations and inspections;
  
• failure to plan proper communication during the flight;
  
• failure to safely operate the plane;
  
• failure to keep the plane on the flight path;
  
• failure to properly monitor the engine.

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What: Wesvin Inc Piper PA-34
Where: KENOVA, W.Va 1.5 miles from the Wayne County airport
When: after 1 p.m. Jan 30 2009
Who: Pilot and six passengers were killed in the crash
Why: The plane was low on fuel and made a sudden 180-degree turn before losing contact with controllers at Tri-State. The plane struck struck a 345-kilovolt distribution lines.

The wings are broken; the propellor separated and propeller blade is missing.