For many who make the decision to fly to a destination, that fear of an aviation crash is always in the back of their mind. With any luck, it stays at the back of their mind, too. While commercial plane accidents are well publicized, considering the thousands of commercial planes that fly every day, crashes are rare. However, if you choose to fly on private planes because you think they are safer, you would be very wrong.
Unlike commercial plane crashes, private plane crashes are not as well covered by the media, and they are actually much more common. Whether you are heading out with a friend with their shiny new pilot’s license or chartering a private plane to take you where you need to go, stepping onto a private plane is placing yourself at higher risk for an aviation accident then if you were to travel on a commercial airline.
Why Are Private Planes More Dangerous
When private planes crash, there is typically one key term that is used for the accident – loss of control. The major disadvantage that private planes have is usually they have a lack of the safety features common in larger commercial planes. They lack extra engines, backups for navigation, and co-pilots.
Furthermore, while private plane pilots are required to go through training and undergo proficiency checks every two years, all those requirements are rather minimal. This is why most causes of private plane accidents almost always boil down to pilot error. While the planes can malfunction and defects can be present, typically the pilots will end up in a stall and spin situation and they do not have the altitude or even the skills to recover from it, leading to devastating and deadly crashes.
The combination of pilot inexperience and lack of safety features are exactly why if you consider private planes to be the safer option to take to the skies, you should think again. While luxury charter companies and company jet companies may take more precautions to protect those that fly with them, you might be putting yourself at risk if you choose smaller private plane charters to travel the skies.
What to Do After a Private Plane Crash or Injury
If you are in a crash or accident in a private plane and only suffered injuries, you should consider yourself very lucky. Many involved in private plane crashes lose their lives and that turns a personal injury suit into a wrongful death suit for your family.
After receiving medical treatment for any injuries, if you wish to pursue a case, the first thing you need to do is find out why it crashed in the first place. In most private plane crashes, it will almost always be due to some sort of pilot error. While defects and malfunctions aren’t too uncommon either, typically a private plane crash will be caused by some risky or wrong behavior on the part of the pilot, and they should be held responsible for it. By determining fault with the help of your personal injury lawyer, your case can truly begin.
After fault has been determined, it is then a task of gathering evidence that proves fault, and this is where a good personal injury lawyer comes in. In aviation accident cases, you need a personal injury lawyer that has knowledge of aviation accident cases. There is a lot to consider in these sorts of accidents, and because they are not as common as say, an auto accident, some personal injury lawyers have never dealt with them before. If you have been in a private plane crash in Wisconsin and need a good personal injury attorney skilled in aviation accidents, contact us today.
