Black Hawk Helicopter Crash Lawsuit

September 21, 2006

Black Hawk Helicopter Crash Lawsuit

Families of Soldiers Killed in 2004 Black Hawk Helicopter Crash in Waco, Texas file a Wrongful Death Lawsuit against the Television Tower Owners and Operators.

Press Release

Houston, TX — The Willis Law Firm and co-counsel, today announced that they have filed a lawsuit on behalf of the families of three soldiers who died when a U.S. Army helicopter collided with guy wires supporting a television broadcasting tower near Waco, Texas, on a foggy morning in November 2004. At the time of the helicopter crash, the television tower’s warning lights were not functioning, a violation of Federal Communications Commission and Federal Aviation Administration regulations. The suit alleges negligence on the part of Oklahoma-based KSWO Television Company, Inc., one of the owners and/or operators of the tower.

The helicopter, a UH-60L Black Hawk, crashed on November 29, 2004, shortly after taking off from Fort Hood, Texas, killing all seven soldiers aboard. Victims included Brigadier General Charles B. Allen of Lawton, Oklahoma; Specialist Richard L. Brown of Stonewall, Louisiana; Chief Warrant Officer Todd T. Christmas of Wagon Mound, New Mexico; Chief Warrant Officer Doug Clapp of Greensboro, North Carolina; Chief Warrant Officer Mark W. Evans of Killeen, Texas; Chief Warrant Officer David H. Garner of Mason City, Iowa; and Colonel James M. Moore of Peabody, Massachusetts. The lawsuit against KSWO Television Company, Inc. is filed on behalf of the families of Officers Christmas, Garner, and Evans. The families of the other victims are not currently involved in the suit.

“The saddest thing about this tragedy is that it could easily have been avoided,” said Nelson Roach, a partner in Nix, Patterson & Roach and one of the attorneys handling the case. “If it weren’t for the abject negligence of KSWO, these seven soldiers would be alive today. With that in mind, we intend to use every means at our disposal to compensate the victims.”

Erica Smith Christmas et al. v. Centex Television Limited Partnership, KSWO Television of Texas, Inc., and KSWO Television Company, Inc. is filed in the 414th District Court in McLennan County, Texas, Cause No. 2006-3165-5.

The Willis Law Firm

The Willis Law Firm is based in Houston, Texas with a strong national presence and recognition. With over 22 years of personal injury experience, Mr. David Willis is a Board Certified Personal Injury Trial Lawyer, certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and is licensed in Texas and New York. He has gained a national reputation as a leading personal injury lawyer in the United States. He specializes in the prosecution of serious injury cases, involving burns, paralysis, anoxic brain damage, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries and wrongful death suits against manufacturers, chemical plants and other corporate entities in Texas and across the United States.

Nix, Patterson & Roach LLP

Founded by Harold Nix in 1965 in Daingerfield, Texas, Nix, Patterson & Roach is today one of the premier plaintiff’s law firms in the United States. Known for its historic recovery on behalf of the State of Texas in tobacco litigation, the firm maintains state-of-the-art offices in Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Tennessee, and Saltillo, Mexico.

SOURCE: PRWEB

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September 8, 2006

Helicopter Crash Lawsuit Filed in Waco Texas

WACO, Texas — Relatives of three soldiers killed in an Army helicopter crash sued the owners and operators of a television tower, claiming broken warning lights on the tower created a hazard.

Seven soldiers from Fort Hood died in November 2004 when their helicopter plummeted to the ground on a foggy morning after apparently striking cables supporting a TV transmission tower near Waco, Texas. The tower’s warning lights were knocked out in a storm the week before and were not operating and in need of repair. The helicopter crash lawsuit alleged that failure to adequately and promptly maintain the lights created “a dangerous hazard to nearby aircraft, including the helicopter in which plaintiffs were passengers,” it said.

Those named in the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in state district court in McLennan County, include Centex Television Limited Partnership, which owns KXXV-TV in Waco. A television station official declined to comment. Representatives who answered the phone at Centex said the company had no comment. Army investigators said last year that the fatal crash was caused by the pilots’ attempt to fly under visual flight rules in poor weather conditions.

The lawsuit was filed by family members of Chief Warrant Officer 2 David H. Gardner Jr., 32, of Mason City, Iowa, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Mark W. Evans Jr., 27, of Jacksonville, Fla., who were the Black Hawk’s pilots; and Capt. Todd T. Christmas, 26, of Wagon Mound, N.M.. Others killed include Chief Warrant Officer Doug Clapp, Colonel James Moore, and Brigadier General Charles B. Allen.

Texas Trial Lawyer, David P. Willis of the Willis Law Firm along with Attorney, Nelson J. Roach of the Nix Patterson & Roach Law Firm represent three families of those killed in the Army helicopter crash. A wrongful death lawsuit against the television tower owners has been filed because of their negligence in maintaining lights on the TV transmission tower which resulted in seven deaths — when the military helicopter hit one of the cables early one foggy morning and crashed in November 2005 outside Waco, Texas.

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