Aviation

Four major airlines, including American, United and Southwest, were fined Friday (Aug. 26, 2016) by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for allegedly misleading passengers about the compensation they provide when problems arise, including being bumped from flights. Clifford Law Offices is often contacted by people after they are told outdated information on what they can recover after they suffer lost baggage or get bumped from flights -whether it be mechanical issues or other non-weather…

Clifford Law Offices represented 18 families who were victims of the Turkish Air crash of Flight 1951 at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam on Feb. 25, 2009, that killed nine passengers and crew members. The most recent commercial jet crash at Dubai International Airport is eerily similar – with 300 people miraculously escaping with their lives, sprinting on the runway after the Emirates plane reportedly exploded after landing. Emirates is the Middle East’s largest airline. Six…

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a video that highlights the crucial role that procedural compliance plays in commercial aviation safety. The nine-minute video, released Dec. 3, 2015, uses findings from several commercial airplane crashes to show how deviation from standard operating procedures can initiate a chain of events that can lead to devastating consequences for innocent people. “Aviation flight operating procedures are developed and refined to provide repeatable steps for safely flying a…

A business jet carrying seven people and two pilots crashed into an apartment building this afternoon (Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015) reportedly killing everyone on board in a fiery crash while on approach to Akron Fulton Airport in Ohio. Several witnesses said they saw the aircraft clip electrical and telephone wires before hitting the apartment building and then careening into an embankment. A second building in the area, believed to be a home, also was damaged…

A vigil is being held tonight (April 7, 2015) for four of the victims who belonged to the same church in Bloomington-Normal and flowers are everywhere around town and around the campus in honor of seven men who died in a tragic plane crash early this morning, all part of the Illinois State community. All of the men who died are described as loving husbands, fathers and leaders in the community and their loss is…

A tragic plane crash involving a Cessna 414 occurred just outside Bloomington, Illinois, Tuesday morning (April 7, 2015) when seven people aboard were killed when the aircraft crashed just short of the airport. Numerous media outlets are reporting that six people were aboard as well as the pilot, all returning late last night from the NCAA championship basketball game in Indianapolis. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has confirmed the incident and the National Transportation Safety…

It is being reported throughout the world that the young co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525 intentionally crashed the plane into the French Alps yesterday, killing all 150 people on board. In its wake, grieving families are looking for answers as to why a person would commit such a horrific act. Major news outlets are reporting that the 28-year-old co-pilot from Germany who has been working for the airline since 2013 locked out the captain and…

A world mourns another tragic plane crash in France, killing all 150 people aboard including two babies, 16 students and two teachers from a German high school. Germanwings Flight 9525, an Airbus, reportedly was “obliterated” when it plunged from 14,000 feet in eight minutes into the foothills of the French Alps in southeastern France where it is very difficult to reach, according to rescuers. It is being reported that 144 passengers and six crew members…

It’s been one year since Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 vanished, taking the lives of 239 passengers and crew who have never been seen again. It is one of aviation’s greatest mysteries, despite the touting of some state-of-the-art technology to help prevent such disasters. The Boeing 777-200ER weighed about 656,000 pounds and was the length of six school buses. How did it just vanish into thin air? How could air traffic control not keep in touch…