Aviation Accident Attorneys

Aviation Law Group PS is a leading law firm representing persons on the West Coast and throughout the United States, in aircraft accidents and other aviation-related cases involving serious injury and wrongful death. ALG has expanded its domestic practice nationally to include the West Coast and East Coast, with offices in Seattle, Washington, Honolulu, Hawaii, and Jupiter, Florida. With more than 35 years of experience practicing law and more than 45 years in aviation, ALG is proud of our highly credentialed attorneys, who are all also certified commercial pilots and two are certified mechanics. ALG has a long history of excellent legal work and results on behalf of hundreds of clients in the highly technical and complex area of aviation litigation. ALG attorneys are licensed to practice law throughout the United States, including Alaska, Washington, Hawaii, California, and Florida. We routinely handle cases throughout the U.S., and with local counsel we can bring our aviation experience to cases in all 50 States, Canada, and Internationally.

Bob Hedrick

Bob Hedrick

Attorney 30+ years
Commercial Pilot
A&P Aviation Mechanic
20+ Years Professor of Aviation Accident Law 

Casey DuBose

Casey DuBose

Attorney 10+ years
Commercial Pilot
Flight Instructor
Fluent Mandarin Chinese
Professor of Aviation and Space Law 

 

Kerry Kovarik

Kerry Kovarik

Attorney 16+ years
Commercial Pilot
Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic
Former FAA Authorized Inspector 

Chris Rusing

Chris Rusing

Attorney 20+ years
Airline Pilot & Instructor
Airbus 320 Series Captain

WHAT WE DO

Aviation Accident Law

 

 

General Aviation Accidents

General aviation involves private and recreational flight activity. It includes non-airline flights such as scenic flights, flight training, private flights, recreational flights, helicopter flights and operations, seaplanes, flying clubs, business flights, gliders, and a lot of other aerial activity. All of Aviation Law Group attorneys have extensive experience in many aspects of general aviation, from flying and instructing, to operations and aircraft maintenance. Since 1988, our lawyers have handled accidents involving nearly all aspects of general aviation activity for airplanes, helicopters, and fixed base operators.

Helicopter Accidents

Helicopter accidents often involve issues of external load operations such as longline or external load (link to external load), heli-lifting, heli-logging, and fire-fighting support.

Major Airline Accidents

ALG attorneys have represented numerous families who lost loved ones in major airline disasters, such as the January 31, 2000, Alaska Flight 261 accident near Point Hueneme, California, and the February 25, 2009, Turkish Airline Flight TK 1951 accident in Amsterdam. We have extensive experience with international airline liability law, including the Montreal Convention and its predecessor the Warsaw Convention, where issues of liability, jurisdiction, applicable law, and recoverable damages are complex. ALG attorneys have given many talks and written numerous articles in this specialized field of law. Mr. Hedrick also teaches the Montreal Convention as part of his Aviation Accident Law course at Seattle University School of Law.

International Coverage and Regional Expertise

Washington

Unfortunately, aircraft accidents occur nearly weekly throughout Washington.  In addition, many aircraft accidents outside of Washington involve Washington manufacturers or operators. 

Alaska

Because of the extent of aviation activity throughout the 49th and largest state in the U.S., Robert Hedrick obtained his attorney license in Alaska nearly 20 years ago in 2002 and is an active member of the Alaska Bar Association.

Hawaii

Aviation activity is unique in the Hawaiian archipelago because of its location and geographical topography.

Recent Aviation Law News

NTSB Preliminary Report On the March 30, 2024, Truckee, California TBM 700 Accident Raises Eyebrows at Aviation Law Group

NTSB Preliminary Report On the March 30, 2024, Truckee, California TBM 700 Accident Raises Eyebrows at Aviation Law Group

With an experienced pilot with 250 hours in N960LP in the prior 16 months, a pilot-rated passenger – as per the NTSB, and the fact that they were flying their own aircraft into their home airport in daylight hours, this does not appear to be a classic case of controlled flight into terrain, as the final descent suggests otherwise.

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Singapore Airlines Flight 321: ALG Lawyers Concerned About Yet Another Severe Turbulence Accident

Singapore Airlines Flight 321: ALG Lawyers Concerned About Yet Another Severe Turbulence Accident

Recent research suggests that turbulence incidents are increasing, potentially due to climate change and elevated carbon dioxide emissions affecting air currents. In this accident, Aviation Law Group is concerned that some of the relevant cockpit data information may not have been saved or recorded, giving investigators a less-than-complete picture of exactly what went on.

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Yakutat Coastal Airlines Accident Remains A Mystery

Yakutat Coastal Airlines Accident Remains A Mystery

On Tuesday May 24, 2022 at approximately 3:00 pm, a Yakutat Coastal Airlines DHC-3 Otter was involved in a serious accident as it approached to land at a rural airstrip (Dry Bay Airport 3AK) 47 miles southeast of Yakutat. While one passenger received minor injuries,...

关于东方MU5732

关于东方MU5732

在此我们向中国东方航空空难遇难者及其家属致哀,我们的心与其同在。 我们能在美国以航空律师事务所的身份提供您相关的法律服务。而我们的事务所也正好位于波音總部的华盛顿州,波音737-800的设计及组装也是在此完成。 航空法律集团(Aviation Law...

Boeing 737-8 Crashes in China

Boeing 737-8 Crashes in China

China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 crashed en route from Kunming to Guangzhou with 132 souls on board today. The aircraft is a B737-8 that was first delivered in 2015 and built-in Renton Washington. It is not a 737 MAX aircraft. The flight profile shows an...

The Rise and Fall of Civil Aviation in the Republic of China

The Rise and Fall of Civil Aviation in the Republic of China

In 1937, one of the first airlines in China - Eurasia Airlines (欧亚航空公司) - started to recruit flight attendants for the first time. Suitable applicants had to meet the following conditions: aged between 20-25 years of age, proper demeanor/appearance, height 1.5 m -1.7...

Representative Cases

Airplane Mis-fueling Accident

A lineman working for local aircraft fueling operation pumped Jet-A aircraft fuel into the tanks of a reciprocating single-engine airplane, which required 100 octane low lead fuel.

Defective Carburetor Accident

In February 2013, following a 3-week trial, a Washington jury returned a verdict for $8.9 million in favor of our client against an aircraft engine manufacturer.

Regional Fly-In Accident

After a 3-week jury trial, Robert Hedrick obtained a $10.5 million verdict against a regional fly-in host and its national counterpart. The case involved failure to arrange for adequate fire and emergency response at the event, which caused a pilot to die needlessly. 

Aircraft Design Defect

Last year, after a two-week trial, a 12-person jury returned a verdict in favor of the clients of Aviation Law Group, finding that an aircraft’s flight control system was defectively designed, which caused the deaths of a pilot and his passenger.

Firm Contact Information

If you or a loved one has been the victim of an aviation-related accident, please reach out to us. We are always willing to provide a free initial evaluation and meeting.

info@aviationlawgroup.com

(206) 464-1166

Aviation Law Group, 1700 7th Avenue, Suite 2100, Seattle, Washington 98101

Office Hours: M-F (6am-7pm)

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