Two Years After Fiery Hartford Crash, Pilot Sues Mechanics and Manufacturers

The Old Saybrook pilot who was seriously injured when his single-engine plane crashed and exploded during takeoff from Hartford-Brainard Airport two years ago is suing a series of aviation businesses that manufactured or sold parts along with two Simsbury companies that worked on the aircraft.

Scott Ling and his wife, Elena, contend that mechanics and parts dealers were responsible for the fiery wreck on Jan. 28, 2023 that destroyed the plane and burned him seriously enough to require skin grafts and more than six weeks of hospitalization.

The Lings assert that a faulty valve caused such a severe imbalance between the right and left fuel tanks that the plane immediately listed to the left when it got airborne, leading to an uncontrollable roll and crash.

Based on an extensive investigation, NTSB issued a report describing the crash this way:

“During the second takeoff, at rotation, the airplane briefly climbed but immediately began a roll and turn to the left. The pilot attempted to correct the left roll by applying right roll with the flight controls and by reducing engine power; however, the left roll and turn continued. The airplane impacted terrain in a left turn with the left wing impacting the ground first.

“Subsequently, the airplane cartwheeled and an explosion and postcrash fire immediately ensued. The pilot was ejected from the airframe during the impact and was rescued by first responders.”

The NTSB examined the wreckage, and issued a report in May 2024 concluding that the fuel feed system probably was the reason for the fuel imbalance. Data from the primary flight display system showed the plane taxied to the runway with 82 gallons in the left tank, more than twice the  39 gallons in the right tank.

“The most recent fuel system maintenance work involved the replacement of an on/off crossfeed valve. The valve was found in the wreckage mostly closed and it had seized; however, it displayed a slight angle towards the open position. It is likely that the slight opening allowed for fuel to migrate from the right wing to the left wing over the course of the 30 days the airplane sat between flights,” the report stated.

Ling had no passenger as he piloted the 24-year-old Lancair IV-P, which the NTSB described as an experimental, amateur-built craft that “had ongoing issues with fuel migrating from the right wing fuel tank to the left wing tank when the airplane sat in the hangar for several days or more.”

The NTSB said witnesses at the airport on the day of the crash saw the left wing sitting low while the plane was parked in the hangar and later on the ramp.

“However, the pilot did not notice the leaning during his preflight inspection nor did he visually check the fuel tanks before flight,” the NTSB report said. “The pilot had multiple opportunities to notice the fuel imbalance. He could have checked the fuel filler caps during preflight or observed that the PFD displayed a significant fuel imbalance.”

The report noted that on the afternoon of the crash, Ling had attempted a takeoff, but abandoned it before leaving the ground because he felt something was wrong with the plane. He taxied for a while to see how the aircraft handled before trying again, it said.

“(He) performed no meaningful troubleshooting nor did he exit the airplane before deciding to take off again. Had the pilot ended the flight after the rejected takeoff and checked the fuel, or called for maintenance to examine the airplane, the fuel imbalance likely could have been discovered,” the NTSB said.

Ling’s attorneys, Cynthia Devers and Michael Miska of Bala Cynwyd, PA, did not return a call about the NTSB report.

But their suit contends that a series of defendants were guilty of negligence because the valve designed to keep fuel from moving between the left and right tanks on the plane didn’t function correctly, causing the severe imbalance that made the plane roll and become uncontrollable on takeoff.

Ling’s suit names three out-of-state companies — Edelbrock LLC, Holley Performance Products and RDD Enterprises LLC — as defendants. RDD had modified the plane to an LX7-20 by installing longer wings, a higher tail and a different engine; Holley manufactured components of the fuel system and Edelbrock sold them.

The suit also alleges Simsbury Aircraft Maintenance and Simsbury Aviation Services, two related businesses based at Simsbury Airport, were negligent in maintaining the plane and in installing and inspecting parts of the fuel system.

The lawsuit contends the defendants had a role in his injuries, including severe burns that required skin grafts, smoke inhalation and a broken patella.

Middlesex Superior Court Judge Rupal Shah has listed the case for trial in March 2027. Because of the technical nature of the claims and the involvement of both state and federal regulations, there is an application pending to transfer the matter to the complex litigation docket in the Waterbury Judicial District.

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