Press Release: Cirrus Design Sued for Wrongful Death in Lidle/Stanger Crash

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Todd Macaluso of Macaluso & Associates, the attorney representing the families Cory Lidle and Tyler Stanger whom died in the Manhattan small place crash on October 11, 2006 announces today that he is filing a wrongful death action against Cirrus Design Corporation and other defendants in Santa Monica, Ca. on Thursday, February 22, 2007 on behalf of the widows and children of the deceased pilots.

The complaint alleges causes of action for product liability, negligence and breach of warranty against Cirrus, Teledyne, Hartzel Propeller, S-Tec, Honeywell and Justice Aviation.

At 11:00 am. on Thursday, February 22, 2007, Todd Macaluso will hold a press conference on the steps in front of the Hall of Justice located at 330 West Broadway in San Diego. He will provide a brief statement regarding the case and answer questions.

Yankee Pitcher Cory Lidle and his close friend Tyler Stanger died on October 11, 2006 when Cory’s Cirrus SR 20 crashed into a Manhattan Condominium Complex. Early in the investigation, the NTSB concluded that pilot error caused the accident.

However, after a close review of prior Cirrus accidents, internal documents at NTSB and FAA, witness statements, as well as the NTSB Factual Docket, the evidence demonstrates that the aircraft lost control because of a catastrophic failure of the flight control system.

Cirrus airplanes have a history of aileron failures, one of which caused the death of the company’s test pilot on March 23, 1999. Since the test pilot’s death, there have been other accidents involving flight control failures, several of which resulted in deaths.

In April 2006, NTSB was notified that when the SR20 aircraft left Cirrus’ manufacturing plant, the aileron travel stops were being misrigged in many of the airplanes and this was causing flight control problems. NTSB was also notified that the trim cartridges in the left ailerons were sticking on various planes. Cirrus never took any corrective actions despite these known defects.

Cirrus, NTSB and the FAA were well aware of these problems long before Cory Lidle and Tyler Stanger died on October 11, 2006.

Macaluso & Associates can be reached at
Office: (619) 230-0340
Please ask for Stacy King

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