The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has agreed to settle and pay $4.5M to the 27 year old lone survivor of a deadly collision of two helicopters over Torrance Municipal Airport in Cailifornia.
The FAA agency decided to settle with Gavin Heyworth, a former Marine who sued the FAA after the 2003 collision in front of the control tower.
Heyworth was flying solo when his helicopter plowed into another helicopter. The other pilot and his passenger were killed instantly. Heyworth suffered severe injuries.
The settlement comes after the U.S. District Court Judge determined that the FAA was 100 percent responsible for the crash, finding that negligent air traffic controllers gave confusing instructions to Heyworth. She awarded pilot’s family $4.7M in damages.
The National Transportation Safety Board had previously found that Heyworth was at fault. The passenger’s widow settled for $900,000 before her case reached trial.
Legal Analysis: This case exemplifies persistence; when one government agency finds you liable, keep pressing your case to seek justice if you know there is negligence.