SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — Attorneys who represent plaintiffs in airplane mishaps say the Pilatus PC-12 that the Idaho Falls, Idaho family was flying in Saturday near Chamberlain has a history of problems.
Anthony Tarricone, an aviation attorney at Kreindler & Kreindler LLP, an East Coast aviation law firm, says he has litigated several PC-12 cases. He says he has uncovered multiple problems with this aircraft.
“While it is too early to tell specifically what went wrong with this crash in South Dakota,” says Tarricone, “through the years there has been intense litigation against the Swiss manufacturer of this plane, and we have learned that it has several critical design and system defects.”
He says that when the PC-12 was initially certified, it was unable to meet FAA certification requirements relating to control of the aircraft in certain flight conditions. Tarricone says because of its hazardous stall characteristics, the PC-12 necessitated special approval of an anti-stall system to work around the FAA’s certification standard.
“This ‘work-around’ did not change the hazardous aerodynamic characteristics of the airplane,” Tarricone said. “The PC-12 also has a history of problems in cold weather operations that affect the fuel system. In a tragic Butte Montana crash in 2009, which is currently the subject of an appeal to NTSB, it was determined that despite hundreds of low fuel pressure events due to icing in the fuel, a warning was never displayed on the airplane’s Caution and Warning System due to deficiencies in the way the system was programmed.”
Not all industry experts agree with Tarricone’s analysis of the Pilatus PC-12 safety record.
“Proven reliability of the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 turboprop engine is one of the PC-12’s greatest assets,” according to a May 2019 Aviation Week article. “Statistics reveal that the safety record of the PC-12 with the PT6 exceeds other single-engine aircraft by far, outperforming even twin-engine turboprops.”
The CEO of Boutique Air in 2016 spoke highly of the aircraft’s safety, particularly versus twin-engine aircraft.
“Conventional wisdom suggests that hands down, two engines are better than one,” Shawn Simpson said. “When we look at the data, however, we find the opposite is true: Since its introduction in 1994, the single-engine Pilatus PC-12 fleet has accumulated over 5 million flight hours with zero fatalities due to engine failure (NTSB).”
Another aviation law firm, Slack Davis Sanger, says there have been at least 29 “incidents” involving PC-12s.
The Slack firm notes that even with a deadly crash in Montana, the PC-12 is recognized as a safe aircraft.
- “One major accident occurred on March 22, 2009 when the aircraft crashed on approach to the Bert Mooney Airport in Butte, Montana. Investigations concluded that ice in the fuel system had prevented the normally balanced flow of fuel from the wings. All 14 people on board were killed, seven of whom were young children. Despite this high profile crash, the Pilatus PC-12 is generally regarded as safer than dual-engine aircraft of similar size. Since their start of production, single-engine turboprops have not had a single fatality due to engine failure.
Nonetheless, attorneys at the Kreindler firm also caution that a full investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board has to happen first.
“At this stage it will be important to investigate all of the facts and circumstances surrounding the crash, including the weather information provided to the pilot, as well as precautions taken to fly the aircraft into snow and ice, such as aircraft de-icing,” says Kreindler pilot and attorney Dan Rose. “We have had several cases of aircraft crashing moments after take-off caused by engine failures, so this is another important aspect to be fully investigated by the NTSB.”
The Kreindler firm says that former military pilots and Kreindler partners Brian Alexander and Justin Green are also familiar with multiple other cases involving Pilatus aircraft. Through its investigation and prosecution of cases involving Pilatus PC-12 crashes, Kreindler has uncovered issues with the aircraft that were contrary to findings of the NTSB’s investigations.
The law firm has represented victims in a number of high profile plane crashes. They have served as lead counsel in the 2013 crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 in San Francisco; the still-missing Malaysia Airlines MH370; the Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 crash of a Boeing 737; and many others.
The Kreindler firm recorded what they claim is the largest recovery for a single disaster in the history of aviation to date — nearly $3 billion — against Libya and Pan Am in lawsuits arising out of the bombing of Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.
To the best of KELO.com News’ knowledge, neither the Slack or Kreinder law firms are involved in the representing parties involved in the crash near Chamberlain.
