In January, biologists Kevin O’Conner and Clu Cotter, scientific assistant Tom Stolberg, and pilot Dennis Donovan were all killed in a fatal helicopter crash outside of Fresno, CA. The men, who were all employees of the California Department of Fish and Game, were out on a routine seasonal survey of the local deer population.
The deer survey is a regular task but can be relatively dangerous because it requires helicopters to fly low over the ground in order to get clear pictures of the animals in their habitat. In this case, the danger was increased due to thin, nearly invisible power lines that stretched across a canyon, wires which ensnared the survey helicopter and caused it to go down.
Now the families of Kevin O’Conner, Clu Cotter and Tom Stolberg have filed a lawsuit against Southern California Edison in hopes that the power company will take some responsibility for the men’s deaths. The lawsuit, filed last week, alleges that the company did not have any warning devices that would alert a pilot of the thin power lines that stretched across the canyon. Attorneys for the families claim that the pilot would have never expected the static wires to be placed so far above other, main power lines. Also in dispute is the height of the power lines in question, which attorneys claim are unusually higher than standard lines.
A wrongful death lawsuit has also been filed on behalf of the families that claims that the deaths were senseless and that they could have been avoided had the proper warnings been put into place by Southern California Edison. While no monetary amount is named, the wrongful death suit does request compensation. The families have also filed suit against Landells Aviation and it’s parent company, which the pilot worked for at the time of the crash. That suit alleges that the aviation companies hold some liability for the crash.
