No Injuries Reported From Aviation Accident at Orlando Airport

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on August 29, 2012

Accident investigators with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report that no one was injured in a recent aviation accident at Orlando Sanford International Airport. They say that the small, single-engine aircraft crashed into a ditch after veering off the runway around 10 a.m. one recent morning. The FAA’s investigation is still ongoing, and the agency has not yet determined the cause of the crash, but investigators said that the aircraft sustained minor damage. This aviation accident is the second to occur in Florida in as many weeks. A single-engine aircraft recently had to make an emergency landing in the median of Interstate 75 near Tampa after experiencing engine problems. Orlando aviation accident attorney James O. Cunningham has been monitoring developments in both accidents very closely, as recent trends suggest poor aircraft maintenance may be contributing factors.

Aircraft of any size are very expensive to maintain. In tight economic times like these, aircraft owners of all kinds are looking for new ways to cut costs. This is true of owners of single-engine aircraft like those involved in recent Florida aviation accidents, as well as the huge multinational corporations who own commercial aircraft that fly people all over the world. In fact, the FAA recently concluded an investigation into maintenance violations issued to major airlines, which revealed some startling results. FAA investigators found several serious problems, including these:

• Substandard repairs involving inferior replacement parts
• Repairs and maintenance work performed by unqualified aviation mechanics
• Lax oversight by major airlines
• Poor oversight by FAA officials

John Goglia is a former airline mechanic who was a National Transportation Safety Board member from 1995 to 2004. He says that airlines are placing passengers at risk by skirting proper maintenance schedules and procedures.

"Many repairs are not being done or done properly, and too many flights are leaving the ground in what the FAA calls ‘unairworthy,’ or unsafe, condition," he said.

He also reported that airlines contract around 70 percent of aircraft maintenance work to repair ships in the U.S. and, most often, in other countries, where mistakes can be made by untrained and unqualified mechanics. The FAA acknowledges that while many maintenance problems continue to go undetected, the agency levied more than $28.2 million in fines against 25 carriers in the U.S. for maintenance violations over the last six years. In some cases, the FAA has found that airlines continued to carry passengers in aircraft after the agency found deficiencies in them.

If you or a close family member has been injured in an aviation accident, especially those caused by lax maintenance, you may be entitled to seek damages to help pay medical bills, compensate you for pain and suffering, replace lost income and other damages. If you would like to speak with an experienced Orlando personal injury lawyer to learn more about your rights and legal options, call Mr. Cunningham today at 800-425-2004 to schedule a free consultation.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.