In a lengthy and well reasoned unpublished opinion, the Tenth
Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a grant of summary
judgment to the defendants in litigation arising from a Beechcraft
Premier 390 accident on March 17, 2013. Both of the aircraft's
engines inadvertently were shut down in flight; the pilot then was
unable to restart the engines or lower the landing gear.
This federal court action was brought in the Northern District
of Oklahoma by the two surviving passengers of the planned flight
from Tulsa, OK to South Bend, IN and their spouses. The pilot and a
third passenger were killed in the crash. Plaintiffs/Appellants
sued Beechcraft Corporation ("Beech"), the manufacturer
of the aircraft, and Hawker Beechcraft Global Customer Support
("Hawker"), which provided maintenance services for the
accident aircraft. The plaintiffs alleged negligence claims against
Beech and Hawker, and products liability claims against Beech.
