El Paso Times
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — The family of a Las Cruces man who died in a plane crash near the New Mexico city in August has filed a lawsuit against the three air industry companies involved in the crash.
The Cessna 421C crashed late Aug. 27 near the Las Cruces Airport, killing all four on board - cancer patient Frederick Green, 59, and El Pasoans Freddy Martinez, the pilot, 29; flight paramedic Tauren Summers, 27; and flight nurse Monica Chavez, 35. Green was being transported to Phoenix for cancer treatment.
Green’s family is bringing the lawsuit after a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board found a technician filled the plane’s tank with the wrong fuel, causing the aircraft to crash and burst into flames soon after it left the airport.
Attorney Mark Pierce with Texas law firm Slack & Davis, which represents victims of airplane and helicopter crashes, is filing the lawsuit on behalf of Green’s family, according to a press release issued by the firm.
The suit argues certain safeguards should have been in place to ensure the right fuel was used. The lawsuit names as defendants Southwest Aviation, the company that operates at the airport; Elite Medical Air Transport, to whom the aircraft was registered; and Amigos Aviation, which operated the plane.
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©2014 the El Paso Times (El Paso, Texas)