A wrongful death lawsuit can go forward for now against a Seward-based aviation company that worked on a single-engine plane that eventually crashed in 2017, killing a Georgia couple and the pilot, a federal judge in Nebraska has ruled.
Whisler Aviation of Seward and Central Cylinder Service Inc., an Omaha company it contracts with for maintenance, had sought dismissal of the case filed in U.S. District Court in Nebraska by the estate of William Cocke, 42, and Catherine Cocke, 39, of Savannah, Georgia.
The couple had five children.
A second suit has been filed in federal court in Georgia over the Aug. 28, 2017, crash, later ruled by the Nebraska Transportation and Safety Board to have been caused by the loss of engine power because of a maintenance error.
There, the estate is suing Continental Motors Inc. of Alabama, Aviation Development Group of Georgia, and the estate of the pilot, Randall Hunter.
In the Nebraska suit, attorneys for the Cockes say the plane experienced a "total and catastrophic in-flight engine failure" shortly after takeoff as it was traveling from the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport to Atlanta.
About five minutes after takeoff, the pilot declared an emergency, advising air-traffic control that he had experienced a total engine failure. The aircraft crashed four minutes later.
Attorneys allege it happened as a result of Whisler's work on the engine, which had been improperly installed or re-assembled.
In an answer filed this month, Kansas City attorney John Nettels said Whisler had provided routine maintenance and repairs on the airplane between January 2007 and June 2010 and overhauled the engine in December 2007.
He said June 2010 was the last time it performed any work on the Beechcraft Bonanza model A36 that crashed more than seven years later.
Nettels denied that anything Whisler Aviation did or didn't do was a direct or proximate cause.
"Plaintiffs’ claims are barred," the attorney said, "because the negligence of others, including the pilot and those responsible for dispatching and maintaining the airplane on the day of the accident, taken together is equal to or exceeds that of Whisler Aviation Inc."
Last month, United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher denied the motion to dismiss, saying it could go forward — for now.
"Upon a properly made motion for summary judgment, it is possible many or all of the remaining claims will fail, especially if Whisler is able to support its contention that its actions are too remote in time to support liability for the plane crash," the judge wrote in his order.
However, Buescher said, at this early stage, he found the allegations could go forward on wrongful death and survival claims based on negligence.
He dismissed two other claims based on an alleged breach of warranty.
Reach the writer at 402-473-7237 or [email protected].
On Twitter @LJSpilger
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