If you or a loved one have been seriously injured in a helicopter crash then call us for a Free Initial Consultation. Talk to a Board Certified Personal Injury Trial Lawyer in Texas with over 20 years of personal injury and wrongful death lawsuit experience. Know your rights under the law. Call to find out your rights to a personal injury claim, wrongful death lawsuit or other legal action. Call Now or E-mail us.
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If you have been injured, Talk to a Board Certified Personal Injury Trial Lawyer, certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1988. It cost you nothing to discuss your case or ask a question to a Board Certified Personal Injury Attorney in Texas. No Fees or Court Costs or Expenses charged to the client unless we obtain a recovery. (Contact A Board
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What are the common causes of helicopter crash accidents ? These include an inexperienced helicopter pilot, poorly trained helicopter mechanics, negligent operation of the helicopter, poor weather conditions, operating with excessive loads, negligent maintenance, excessive hours on the turbine, engine, main rotor head, tail rotor, driveshaft, rotor gear box, intermediate gear box, or tail rotor gear box, worn or overloaded cam shaft & crankshaft, repeated over speed of engine resulting in valve seat failure, failure of splines on the drive shaft and water contamination in the fuel.

Other sources of helicopter accidents may be a helicopter owner's failure to properly address concerns in airworthiness directives, the helicopter pilots failure to place the craft into an autorotation, fuel exhaustion, failure to maintain control during autorotation, inadequate service bulletin warnings, improper use of the collective, inadequate communication / coordination between the flight crew and ground personnel, failure to properly react to a loss of engine power or in flight loss of power, failure to follow flight plan, loss of tail rotor control, loss of directional control, failure to maintain adequate main rotor rpm, flight engineer's inadequate visual lookout, improper use of the rotorcraft cyclic control and pilot's failure to obtain a preflight weather briefing.

In a helicopter crash lawsuit, who are the defendants that are brought into a helicopter crash negligence & products liability cases ? The best answer is, all responsible parties which can include the helicopter owner, helicopter operator, charter service, contractor, helicopter engine rebuilder, parts manufacturer, mechanics, and others that are determined to caused or contributed to the helicopter crash. Litigation involving helicopter crash injuries and deaths have include crashes of a weather helicopter, traffic report helicopter, radio / television station helicopter, medical helicopter, EMS helicopter, news helicopter, offshore helicopter charter service to oil rig platforms and ships, tour helicopters for sightseeing, search & rescue helicopter, ER helicopter, transport helicopter, and certain military helicopters.

AVIATION ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION -

EARLY INTERVENTION BY AN AVIATION ATTORNEY IS ESSENTIAL

    Immediately after an aircraft accident, the injured person or the surviving family should hire an aviation lawyer to represent their interests and protect them and advise them of any legal proceeding that they may be called to testify or give a deposition. Most importantly the lawyer can initiate a private investigation to help uncover the true facts of the accident. Often many attorneys will wait until after the NTSB report becomes final before starting any sort of investigation as to the facts of a particular aviation accident. While waiting, (sometimes up to 6-12 months) for the final NTSB report, an experienced aviation lawyer often will:

• Meet with fact witnesses or party representatives before the NTSB  begins its "interrogation" to insure that the witnesses understand the manner in which the aircraft investigation will proceed and be advised of their rights.
• Properly preserve evidence, safeguard records, avoid the spoliation of evidence
• If an FAA employee wants to ask questions as part of an NTSB accident investigation of your client, the lawyer should get a commitment in writing that nothing divulged will be used in an Enforcement Action.
• Conduct an extensive interview of the client and his or her family to gather background facts and history concerning the client.
• Interview the "Eye and ear" witnesses  previously interviewed by the NTSB while their recollections of the aviation crash are fresh.
• Order medical records from all hospitals and medical providers in order to evaluate the injuries from the crash.

• Try and obtain the maintenance, accident and operational history of an airplane, helicopter or other aircraft.
• Obtain photographic evidence from local photographer and news stations that covered the airplane or helicopter crash.
• Obtain Airworthiness Directives Files concerning the aircraft involved 
• Request Flight Plans and Ship Logs of the aircrafts involved in this aviation accident
• Investigative Reports of Federal, State, County and Municipal Law Enforcement, Emergency, Fire and Rescue Agencies
• Medical Reports and hospital records from client's medical providers
• Autopsy Reports / Injury Report
• Service Bulletins and Letters and Instructions
• TSOs
• Advisory Circulars and Other FAA Orders
• General Aviation Inspection Aids
• Patent Applications of any part or system that may have failed
• Hazard Reports
• Service Difficulty Reports
• Malfunction Defect Reports
• Overhaul and Maintenance Records
• Annual or Periodic Inspection Records
• Pilot, Airplane, Engine and Propeller Logbooks
• Certified NWS Weather Data
• FAA Facility Logs
• FAA Aircraft Certification Files
• FAA Airman License and Medical Files
• FAA Airman Training Records
• FAA Aircraft Title and Registration Records
• TRACON Radar Raw Data generated by ARTS
• NTAP Radar Raw data from the ARTCC
• CAMI Toxicology Reports
• Wreckage Scene Photos
• Wreckage Pattern Videotapes
• Airport Data
• Navigational Charts
• Instrument Approach Plates
• Reports of similar accidents involving similar aircraft or components
• NTSB and ICAO Safety Summaries and Recommendations
• Tape Recordings of "all" communications relevant to the accident flight.

If you or a loved one was seriously injured or killed in an aviation accident then you may have a right to file a lawsuit against all responsible parties. Due to the serious nature of these aircraft accidents, crash victims and their families should consult with an experienced attorney as soon as possible. A detailed aviation crash investigation is essential to success.Call us for a Free Confidential Consultation. No Attorneys Fees or Expenses Charged to Client unless a recovery is made for you.
Call Us Now for a Free Case Evaluation 1-800-883-9858 or 1-800-468-4878  or E-Mail Us

Mr. Willis is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

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