Stewarts Law gets justice for Turkish families in aircrash case

This week, Stewarts Law battle for justice for Turkish passengers killed in an air disaster in Turkey was recognised by a Court of Appeal, who confirmed the Turkish families could properly sue American companies in the US courts.



On 10 January 2012, the Appellate Court of Illinois, in Chicago USA, sent a strong message to American aviation companies - that it will not allow them to shirk their responsibility for safety; it will not allow them to dismiss and forget foreign families and foreign deaths in foreign air crashes; and that where a product is thought to be unsafe, it will ensure that those allegations are given fair hearing in a US Court.

On 30 November 2007, Atlasjet flight KK-4203 crashed in a rocky mountainous area 5000ft high known as Shrine Peak (Turbe Tepe) 12km from Isparta Airport, shortly before it was due to land on a domestic flight from Istanbul. All 57 people onboard (7 crew and 50 passengers) perished on impact. Stewarts Law, together with its US Co-Counsel, the Wisner Law Firm, were instructed by many of the passengers' families to independently investigate the accident. Their analysis revealed serious concerns in relation to the enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS). The EGPWS is designed to monitor the aircraft's position in relation to surrounding terrain and alert the crew when their position is unsafe. It appeared that system had failed.

The manufacturers of the EGPWS and the aircraft that crashed are all American corporations. On behalf of their clients, Stewarts Law brought suit against those manufactures in Illinois, US, alleging that the EGPWS was defectively designed, manufactured and assembled and failed to give necessary warnings to the crew. The Defendants, various well known American corporations including Boeing and Honeywell, disputed that the proper place to hear the Turkish claims was an American Court and asked the Court to dismiss the case to Turkey.

On 18 February 2010, the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, the honourable Judge Maddux presiding, refused to dismiss the cases to Turkey finding in favour of the families. The Corporations appealed the decision, contending that Judge Maddux had abused his discretion. In a landmark decision, the Appellate Court of Illinois refused to find that the honourable Judge Maddux had abused his discretion and denied the appeal, holding that "Americans have an interest in ensuring the safety of the products that American corporations, such as Boeing, McDonnell and Honeywell, build and ship throughout the world".

James Healy-Pratt, head of Aviation at Stewarts Law said the following: "All too often, American Corporations try to dodge their responsibility after an accident by having the case kicked out of the American Courts, and back to a foreign court where families often face many obstacles to the truth and justice. This decision, which is yet another victory by Stewarts Law in the US courts on this point, tells US companies that they cannot continue to disregard the rights of families of non-Americans in air crash cases. American corporations must bear responsibility where their products kill, regardless of whether that death occurred in American skies or thousands of miles away over a foreign land. Never forget that air safety is a right and not a privilege."

For more information, please see our website at http://www.stewartslaw.com/services/aviation.aspx or contact our Aviation Team at aviation@stewartslaw.com or on 020 7822 8000.