Father Wins $850,000 in Aviation Disaster Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Case Background

Plaintiff Raymond Thomas filed the Wrongful death lawsuit against Aeolus Air Charter, Inc. on November 4, 2022, in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles (Case number: 22VECV01878). The case was initially presided over by Judge Douglas W. Stern and later by Judge Deirdre Hill.

Cause

On July 26, 2021, a Bombardier CL-600-2B16 twin-engine jet aircraft (registration number N605TR) operated by Aeolus Air Charter, Inc. was involved in a fatal crash while attempting to land at Truckee-Tahoe Airport. The flight, a private charter operating as an interstate common carrier, began its descent around 1:15 pm and requested to land on Runway 11, the longer of the airport’s two runways. After the tower granted permission, the aircraft overflew the runway and initiated a low, tight left turn to reenter the landing pattern. Witnesses described this maneuver as unusually low and tight.

During this turn, the cockpit voice recorder captured a concerning exchange between the two pilots, who were discussing the aircraft’s speed, altitude, and control. Automated warnings from the aircraft’s systems followed, along with expletives from the pilots just before the wing clipped nearby trees. Subsequently, the plane crashed into an adjacent golf course, resulting in the deaths of all six people onboard, including 38-year-old Ryan Raymond Thomas.

Injuries

Ryan Raymond Thomas, who had no surviving spouse or children, suffered fatal injuries in the crash. His untimely death at the age of 38 caused significant and lifelong losses for his biological father, Raymond Thomas.

Damages

Raymond Thomas suffered substantial damages due to his son’s death. These included pecuniary losses from the deprivation of future benefits, gifts, and household services that Ryan Raymond Thomas would have provided. The plaintiff incurred immediate financial burdens such as funeral and burial expenses. Raymond Thomas also suffered significant non-economic losses. These included the profound loss of love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, and protection that a parent-child relationship provides. Additionally, he experienced the absence of affection, society, and moral support, which compounded the emotional toll of the tragedy. Additionally, the plaintiff lost the opportunity for future training and guidance from his son, compounding the emotional toll.

Key Arguments and Proceedings

Legal representation

• Plaintiff(s): Raymond Thomas
  • Counsel for Plaintiff: John Taylor

• Defendant(s):Aeolus Air Charter Inc., | Jadwin Conner | Let’s Jett Inc., | Ventrella Dave
  • Counsel for Defendants: John Robert Hanson

 Claims

1. Wrongful Death – Negligence: The plaintiff asserted that Aeolus Air Charter, Inc. and its employees, including the pilots, breached their duty as a common carrier by failing to properly manage, control, operate, fly, and maintain the aircraft. As a common carrier under California law, Aeolus was held to the highest standard of care, requiring “the vigilance of a very cautious person” to ensure passenger safety. The plaintiff alleged that the defendants’ negligent and reckless operation directly caused the crash and the subsequent death of Ryan Raymond Thomas.
2. Wrongful Death – Strict Product Liability: The plaintiff alleged that unnamed defendants (DOES 51-100), likely including the aircraft manufacturer and component suppliers, were strictly liable for defects in the design, manufacture, and assembly of the Bombardier CL-600-2B16 aircraft and its components. The complaint stated that these defects rendered the aircraft unsafe for its intended use and directly caused the crash. The plaintiff argued that the aircraft was in substantially the same condition as when it left the defendants’ possession, or any changes were reasonably foreseeable.
3. Wrongful Death – Product Liability – Negligence: In addition to strict liability, the plaintiff claimed that the unnamed defendants (DOES 51-100) were negligent in their roles as manufacturers, fabricators, assemblers, distributors, sellers, and servicers of the aircraft and its components. This negligence allegedly extended to failures in design, quality control, testing, and inspection. The plaintiff also asserted that these defendants failed to provide adequate warnings and instructions for the safe operation of the aircraft. Additionally, they alleged that the defendants neglected to recall or take appropriate post-marketing actions to prevent incidents like this crash.

Defense

Aeolus Air Charter, Inc. denied all allegations in the complaint. They argued that the plaintiff failed to state a valid cause of action and claimed that any damages suffered by the plaintiff were caused by the negligence or tortious conduct of other parties, not Aeolus. Aeolus sought a reduction in potential damages based on the proportion of fault attributable to others. They also argued that the plaintiff’s recovery should be subject to California’s law of several liability.

Aeolus raised concerns that not all potential heirs were included in the lawsuit and requested a stay or abatement of the case. They reserved the right to seek a change of venue to Nevada County or another appropriate location. The company asserted that the plaintiff’s decedent had assumed the risks involved in the incident. They also claimed that intervening and superseding actions of others barred the plaintiff’s recovery.

The defense invoked several legal doctrines to challenge the lawsuit, including estoppel, waiver, and laches. Aeolus argued that their obligations regarding aircraft operation and maintenance were preempted by Federal Aviation Regulations. They questioned whether the plaintiff had legal standing to bring a wrongful death action under California law. Finally, Aeolus reserved the right to offer additional defenses as more information became available through the discovery process.

Jury Verdict

On June 27, 2024, the jury determined that the loss of Ryan Raymond Thomas’ love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society, and moral support amounted to $135,000 for past losses and $715,000 for future losses of the same nature. In total, the jury awarded Raymond Thomas $850,000 in damages for the loss of his son, Ryan Raymond Thomas.

Court Documents:

Available Upon Request