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Motley Rice LLC is reviewing and analyzing the crash of the Learjet 60 N999LG aircraft that occurred at 11:53 p.m. on September 19, 2008, in Columbia, South Carolina, that killed four and severely burned former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and Adam Goldstein, better known as DJ AM.
The aircraft was a Learjet Model 60, manufactured in 2006 and FAA certificated on November 16, 2007. There is also information that there was a temporary certificate with an expiration date of September 10, 2008, nine days before the crash. The engines were Pratt & Whitney Canada model PW305A.
The aircraft was owned by Inter Travel and Services, Inc. of 1 Park Plaza Suite 550, Irvine, California, and it was offered for charter on the internet. It was being operated by Global Exec Aviation LLC of 3250 Airline Way, Long Beach, California. In addition to providing air charter service from a few aircraft identified as Global Executive Aviation’s fleet, Global Exec Aviation LLC runs its Charter Management Program for aircraft owners who want to derive charter income from their aircraft. It appears this Learjet was one such charter management aircraft. Through the Charter Management Program, Global Exec Aviation LLC provides charter marketing services and charter clients as well as the coordination of schedules. The company also provides charter management, maintenance, crew, fuel, reservations, ground transportation and catering and what it describes as “savings on insurance”.
Global Exec Aviation LLC bragged of a perfect safety record. Despite the fatal flight on September 19, the safety claim is still on the Global Exec Aviation website. Global Exec Aviation LLC’s management includes Ramon Manriquez (president), Michael Nattress (vice-president), Eleazar Jiminez (chief pilot), Charles Perrigoue (operations), Harry Ortiz (charter sales), Jason Holl (charter and marketing) and Tom Walters (maintenance). Recent press statements indicate they were seeking to expand their entertainment and sports VIP transportation business.
This particular aircraft appeared to have a problem on September 12, 2008. It departed Teterboro, New Jersey, bound for Tulsa, Oklahoma, but was diverted back to Teterboro shortly after takeoff with an apparent mechanical problem. Available records indicate the plane did not make any flights until Thursday, September 18, 2008, when it made a short 47 minute check-out flight, apparently after a lengthy period of maintenance. The plane arrived in Columbia, South Carolina at 11:08 p.m. after a one hour and 26 minute flight from New Jersey, less than one hour before the fatal crash which occurred at 11:53 p.m. on takeoff. At least one other flight flew the same route from Teterboro to Columbia at about the same time without any reported problems with weather, routes, ATC, winds, birds, lightening or other threats to aviation.
The pilot, Sarah Lemmon, 31, of Anaheim Hills, California, co-pilot James Bland, 52, of Carlsbad, California, Barker’s assistant Chris Baker, 29, of Los Angeles and security guard Charles Still, 25, also of Los Angeles were killed in the crash.
Travis Barker and DJ AM (Adam Goldstein) survived with severe burns after exiting the aircraft after it split in half after impacting stationary aviation equipment and lighting at the end of the runway, breaching the airport fence, crossing a road and coming to rest on an embankment. Eyewitnesses saw the two men on fire and outside the plane and as they attempted to pat out the flames on themselves. Barker was transported to a burn center in Augusta, Georgia, by ground transportation and Goldstein was airlifted to the same burn center for treatment. Both are reported to be in critical but stable condition.
Motley Rice is prepared to litigate aviation disasters in the United States and around the world. Motley Rice attorneys have represented clients in every recent major U.S. aviation crash and from 30 countries around the world. Among our attorneys and staff are jet and piston pilots, a former air traffic controller, the former Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation and former FAA personnel. We have attorneys licensed in the jurisdictions involved in this crash, including California, New York and South Carolina. Together with our Canadian co-counsel, we have in several cases litigated against Pratt and Whitney Canada, the manufacturer of the engines on this Learjet 60.
The Motley Rice aviation team is researching this accident and any legal responsibility that Global Exec Aviation LLC and Inter Travel and Services, Inc. may have to the survivors and families of the victims of this tragic event. If you or someone you know is interested in seeking legal recourse due to wrongful death or personal injury as a result of this accident, please contact Motley Rice aviation attorney Mary Schiavo (DC, MD, MO, SC) at (843) 216-9138 or toll free at 1-800-768-4026.
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