Washington State Jury Finds Pilot, Not Engine Manufacturer, Liable For Plane Crash That Caused Four-Year-Old's Death
May 5, 2016 - On June 1, 2010, a Cessna U206F piloted by Preston Cavner departed Merrill Field Airport in Anchorage, AK. The plane had been rebuilt in 2003 by Continental Motors, Inc., Northwest Seaplanes, Inc. had replaced parts on the engine, and the plane had received maintenance and inspection by Ace Aviation, Inc. Cavner's wife Stacie Cavner, the Cavners' minor children Myles Cavner and H.C., and babysitter Rachel Zientek were passengers on the plane. Shortly after departure, the plane crashed into a vacant building. A fire erupted after the crash. Bystanders rescued Preston and Stacie Cavner, H.C., and Zientek, all of whom suffered serious injuries. Four-year-old Myles Cavner was killed in the accident. Following an investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board found the cause of the crash was Preston Cavner's overloading of the plan with timber and tiles.
On May 25, 2012, the Cavners and Zienteks filed suit against Continental, Ace, and Northwest in the Washington Superior Court for King County. The plaintiffs asserted claims of strict liability, negligence, breach of warranty, and violation of the Washington Product Liability Act, Chapter RCW 7.72. The plaintiffs alleged Continental's engine was defective and unsafe and its design, manufacture, and rebuild and that adequate and proper guidelines and warnings were not issued in relation to the engine. The plaintiffs also argued the engine and its components were not airworthy, of merchantable quality, or fit for the purpose for which they were designed, manufactured and sold.
Several of the plaintiffs, including Preston's wife Stacie Cavner, filed a cross-claim against Preston Cavner. According to news reports, the cross-claimants argued they did not blame Preston for the accident but argued if the jury found he was at fault, judgment should be entered against him. Continental denied the allegations against it and argued the accident was solely caused by Preston Cavner's negligence in overloading the plane. Settlements were reached with Northwest and Ace and the action proceeded to a jury trial on plaintiffs’ claims against Continental. The 11-week trial was presided over by Judge Sean P. O'Donnell. On April 11, 2016, the jury found Continental was not in any way liable for the crash and found Preston's negligence was the sole cause of the accident.
Continental was represented by Will Skinner of the Skinner Law Group, Woodland Hills, CA. To view more information about this case, the full summary can be viewed at Stacie Cavner and Preston Cavner, husband and wife, and parents of H.C. and M.C., minors; Rachel Zientek; Tammy Zientek and Michael Zientek, husband and wife, and parents of Rachel Zientek; The Estate of Myles Cavner, by its Personal Representative Carolann O'Brien Stori; Carolann O'Brien Storli, as Litigation Guardian ad Litem for H.C., a minor v. Continental Motors, Inc., a foreign corporation; Northwest Seaplanes, Inc., a Washington corporation; Ace Aviation, Inc., a Washington corporation; 2016 Jury Verdicts LEXIS 2699.
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