Herrmann Scholbe Files Lawsuit on Behalf of Air Crash Victims

Tag : pilot suit


Herrmann Scholbe lawfirm filed suit in U.S. Federal Court in Los Angeles, CA againstTACA International Airlines for personal injuries of fourpassengers arising out of the May 30, 2008 air crash of TACA'sflight TA 390 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

The complaint alleges that the crash occurred as TACA's pilotattempted to land on the last half of the exceptionally short andwet runway at Toncontin airport after emerging out of low cloudcover for the second time. His first attempt was aborted when thepilot discovered he had overshot the beginning of the runway. Theplane ran off the end of the runway, plunged into a steep ravine;breaking into three pieces as it came to rest straddling a citystreet. Five people were killed as a result and scores ofpassengers were injured requiring hospitalization.

Many victims do not realize they may be entitled to bring suit inthe USA. The Montreal Convention, an international treaty thatcontrols air crash suits, provides passengers may sue in the USAif: 1) ticket was purchased in the USA; 2) USA was their finaldestination; or, 3) the passenger lives in the USA.

In this new age of the internet, the question of where the ticketwas purchased raises intriguing issues. A person may buy tickets ontheir computer anywhere in the world, not knowing where moneyactually changes hands in complicated contracts and bankingtransactions. Passengers may be surprised to learn their ticketswere ultimately purchased in the USA.

Herrmann Scholbe was founded in 1950 by former Washington Senatorand Insurance Commissioner Karl Herrmann. The firm has successfullyrepresented hundreds of victims in numerous air disasters. Itgained an international reputation for its role in winning casesarising out of the controversial shoot down of a Korean plane "KAL007" by a Soviet MIG in 1983. Through secret negotiations, the firmsecured vital testimony of another Korean Air Lines pilot thatliterally cracked the case. Its role in that case was portrayed inthe HBO movie "Tailspin" and featured in the book "Death of Flight007."