Blog Post

Family of Plane Crash Victim Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Posted by: Robert Reeves
May 13, 2008
Topic: Aviation Accidents

The family of Josh Trainor, a 23-year-old man killed during a plane crash in Indiana in November 2006, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company that employed him, the pilot who was piloting the plane at the time of the crash and the plane's engine designer.

The plane crash that killed Trainor also killed three other co-passengers on November 13, 2006. The team was on board a twin engine Cessna, and had just completed a business trip to Indiana. The plane had been chartered for the business trip. Ironically enough, it was only the second time that employees of the company had chartered a plane; they normally flew on commercial airplanes.

They were on their way home back to Des Moines, when the engine developed trouble shortly after take off. The Cessna spiraled out of control and crashed in a field, scattering wreckage and human remains all around. So great was the impact, that cranes had to be called in to dig up debris several feet from underneath the ground where it had been embedded. The crash also killed the cofounder of the company Trainor worked for, Two Rivers Marketing, Tom Dunphy. Besides Josh, two other employees were killed. The pilot John Trewet also died in the plane crash.

The National Safety Transportation Board launched investigations into the plane crash, and came up with a number of facts that could have contributed to the crash, including the foggy weather at the time of the accident.

Josh was engaged to be married at the time of the crash. He and his fiancée had just purchased a home that they were looking forward to moving into. His fiancée has, in the days since his death, set up a charitable organization called Josh Trainor Christmas for Kids that distributes gifts and other things to less privileged children.

Now Josh's family, his parents Jeff and Mary, have filed a wrongful death lawsuit that alleges that Trainor's boss and the pilots' employer face responsibility for his death. Among other things, they insist that John Trewet was in no shape to be flying on the day of the crash. He was reportedly tired and had misread several clearances before take off. The plane he was flying was also not in prime condition. It was an "overweight" machine, the lawsuit alleges. To top it all off, the weather was bad for a take off, something the pilot seems to have ignored. It was foggy, investigators later confirmed, and this played a part in bringing the plane down.

In chartering a plan to fly them back home in what were reportedly bad flying conditions, it seems that there was a careless attitude on the part of Two Rivers Marketing for the safety of its employees. The plane company that owned the plane also needs to answer about why a plane not fit for flying was chartered out to the Two Rivers Marketing Company.

If you have lost a family member in a plane crash, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury lawyer. Contact an attorney at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.


The California personal injury attorneys at The Reeves Law Group represent victims of accidents, injuries and wrongful death throughout California from our offices in Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Diego County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, Ventura County, Fresno County, Kern County, Sacramento County, San Fernando Valley, Long Beach, Antelope Valley, Torrance, Glendale, Bakersfield, Santa Ana, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, Ontario, and Victorville.