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| | Doomed Aspen Flight Brings More Lawsuits By John Millrany - August 10, 2001Claiming that the plane which crashed on an Aspen hillside, killing all 18 people aboard March 29, was flown in a "negligent, wanton, reckless and unlawful manner," the families of three of the victims filed wrongful-death lawsuits Aug. 8 in Los Angeles against the owner and operator of the Gulfstream III turbojet.
Suit was brought by the parents of Elena Bernal and Yevgeny Kaplansky and the husband of Maria Ramona Cota against Airborne Charter Inc. of Santa Monica, the company to which the plane was registered, and Avjet Corp., which housed the jet in a hangar at Burbank Airport.
Another suit was brought against the estate of the plane’s pilots, Robert Frisbie and Peter Kowalczyk by Pyotr and Zinaida Kaplansky, Alfonso and Maria Elena Bernal and Ernesto Cota.
The suits seek unspecified damages in the crash, which occurred March 29 near the conclusion of a flight from Los Angeles. Weather conditions were poor as the Gulfstream approached the Colorado ski resort’s Sardy Field.
Previously, the parents of Paul Pierre Standifer filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Airborne Charter, claiming that the pilots attempted an instrument-only landing, which was prohibited during night landings at the airport.
Also killed in the crash was Jose Aguilar, an adjuster employed in the Glendale office of Fremont Compensation Insurance Corp. Adding to the ironic horror of the crash was the fact that Jose was out to celebrate his 26th birthday at a friend’s house in Aspen. Along for the charter flight and festivities were Jose’s brother Mario, their mother Maria Valanzuela, their aunt Romana Cota, and Jose’s girlfriend Elena Bernal, who was also an adjuster. All perished.
The tragic event had a decidedly Hollywood aspect. Airborne Charter is owned by the founder of Cinergi Pictures, producer Andrew Vajna (who was not on the flight). Other crash victims included 23-year-old, award-winning filmmaker Ori Greenberg, financier Robert Neu and two KTTV News members, Assignment Editor Mirweis "Mir" Tukhi and Production Assistant Marissa Witham.
The FAA has yet to issue a report on the cause of the crash. |