The family of plane crash victims Carley McCord Ensminger and Robert Vaughn Crisp II have filed suits against the party’s operating, maintaining and insuring the plane which carried their family members to their deaths.
The lone survivor of the May 6 crash in Lafayette last year, Stephen Berzas and Kristie Danielle Britt, who sustained burns when her car was hit by the wreckage of the aircraft, are also suing.
The crash occurred moments after the plane took from the airport in Lafayette and was never able to attain level flight.
The plane crashed in a neighborhood near the intersection of Feu Follet Road near Verot School Road.
According to the Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate, the four lawsuits all target Global Data Systems, Cheyenne Partners and Southern Lifestyle Development—the owners of the plane.
The estate of the deceased pilot, Ian E. Biggs.
And Endurance American Insurance and Sompo International Holdings, the insurer of the plane.
The suit filed on behalf of the Ensminger family charges the plane was not properly maintained, was not operated safely and overloaded.
They also say pilot Ian Biggs chose to take off in less than idea conditions and that he was not properly trained or experienced to fly in heavy weather conditions.
The Ensminger suit asks for a jury trial and is seeking unspecified damages.
The report from the National Transportation Safety Board says the twin-engine Piper aircraft took off from Lafayette Regional Airport and crashed less than a minute later.
The plane never got higher than 925-feet when it rolled to the left and went down.
The aircraft cut through trees and power lines on Verot School Road and crashed, skidding through a parking lot next to a U.S. Post Office.
The plane left an 800-foot debris path.
