The biggest question is whether the pilot had enough experience to be landing this large airplane at San Francisco International Airport. Pilot training needs to take place in an environment where passengers are not put at risk.
Orange County, CA (PRWEB) August 12, 2013
Personal injury lawyer John Rapillo of the Law Offices of John Rapillo is closely following the news about the Asiana Airlines plane crash in San Francisco. An Asiana Airlines pilot with 43 hours experience flying a Boeing 777 crashed July 6 at San Francisco airport, killing two people and injuring more than 180 people, according to NBC 4 News (“Asiana Captain Had 43 Hours of Training on Boeing 777s Before San Francisco Crash,” July 8, 2013).
While the accident is under investigation, Rapillo today said airline companies have a duty to make sure their pilots are fully trained and prepared for a variety of situations.
“The cause of the accident remains under investigation, but the fact that the Asiana Airlines pilot only had 43 hours of experience flying Boeing 777 airplanes, according to a representative of the company, raises a lot of important questions,” said Rapillo, who represents people seriously injured in accidents and families who have lost loved ones in accidents.
“The biggest question is whether the pilot had enough experience to be landing this large airplane at San Francisco International Airport,” Rapillo said. “Pilot training needs to take place in an environment where passengers are not put at risk. International flights carrying hundreds of passengers may not be the right place for a pilot to learn how to fly a particular airplane.”
Asiana Airlines pilot Lee Gang-guk had nearly 10,000 hours of experience flying other airplanes but had only 43 hours experience flying Boeing 777 planes prior to the July 6 crash at San Francisco airport, according to the NBC 4 News article. The accident remains under investigation, but officials investigating the crash have determined that “Asiana Airlines Flight 214 was traveling ‘significantly below’ the target speed during its approach and that the crew tried to abort the landing just before it smashed onto the runway,” NBC 4 News reported.
The two passengers killed in the crash were Chinese teenagers and classmates on their way to attend a summer camp in the United States, according to Reuters (“Pilot of crashed Asiana plane was in 777 training,” July 8, 2013). Investigators believe one of the girls who died in the crash was run over by an emergency vehicle responding to the airplane crash, Reuters reported.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families in mourning. No parents should ever have to deal with the death of a child,” Rapillo said. “It’s likely that the parents of the victims who died, as well as the victims who were injured, could have a personal injury claim against the airline company. At our law firm, we are available to offer injury victims a free consultation. We realize you already have enough to worry about a serious or fatal injury has affected our life. Whether you have an experienced, knowledgeable lawyer on your side should not be an issue. It’s critical you have someone on your side you can trust to fight for your family’s rights.”
For more information about what to do after a fatal airplane accident in California and the legal options available to families, call (800) 814-4771 or go to: http://www.rapillolaw.com/contact
About the Law Offices of John Rapillo
An experienced, knowledgeable lawyer with more than 30 years experienced, Orange County personal injury lawyer John Rapillo provides exceptional legal advice to injury victims throughout California. The Law Offices of John Rapillo has offices in Newport Beach and Huntington Beach. The law firm handles a wide range of cases, including auto accidents, motorcycle accidents, truck accidents, slip and fall accidents, dog bites, construction accidents and pedestrian accidents. Attorney Rapillo works on a contingency fee basis. That means you pay nothing if you don’t win. Contact the Law Offices of John Rapillo today for a free case evaluation.
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