Apparently at least 150 people died in the French Alps when a German flight from Barcelona to Dusseldorf crashed this week. According to Slate.com, this is the fifth crash in the last year to result in the death of more than 100 people.
Although it seems like it’s becoming less and less safe to fly, the Aviation Safety Network reports that last year was the safest year on record for the total number of airplane crashes.
Airplane crashes, particularly when they involve a large plane full of people, are high-profile and they are obviously scary. However, airplane travel continues to be one of the safest modes of transportation. According to Slate.com, “If you look at crashes per number of flights as estimated by the International Civil Aviation Organization, 0.0001 percent of flights have crashed in the past 10, years resulting in one death for every 38,549 flights.”
Olson Brooksby practices a wide variety of aviation law. We have experience representing airlines, aviation insurers, aviation product manufacturers, and airplane owners. Our attorneys have handled a broad variety of aviation law matters, including personal injury defense; product liability defense litigation; contract and lease drafting; contract negotiation and disputes; and general aviation commercial litigation.
Much of the firm’s practice is devoted to aviation law, and we are one of the few firms in Oregon with aviation trial experience. Scott Brooksby leads our aviation practice, devoting a substantial amount of his time and practice to aviation-related matters. Scott served as local counsel for one of the largest aviation manufacturers in the world in a nine-week trial in Oregon state court. The trial involved product liability issues and concerned a helicopter crash that resulted in burns, permanent injuries, and multiple deaths. Mr. Brooksby is on the aviation subcommittee of the American Bar Association’s Mass Torts section. Mr. Brooksby has also been featured as a speaker and a moderator at the American Bar Association’s Aviation Litigation National Institute in New York, New York.
