The horrors of a plane crash seemingly got worse for Jacalyn Brown of New Jersey when she survived and was left wondering if she would ever be rescued. Brown had boarded a small Cessna 337A on May 17, 2008, ordered by her employer Geo-Marine Inc. Aboard the plane were two scientists, Stephen Claussen and Juan Carlos Salinas, as well as the pilot, John Ambroult. Even though Geo-Marine Inc. was warned that the plane was unsafe and outdated, the company insisted the three use the Sessna on a routine surveying trip. Plagued by mechanical issues and weather problems from the start, the flight eventually took off but soon crashed into the woods in Eagleswood, N.J. Everyone on the plane died except for Jacalyn Brown and Juan Carlos Salinas. The two were badly injured and waited for hours to be rescued. Now Brown is suing the estate of the pilot, the company that hired him and the state troopers in charge of the search that she claims worsened her injuries.
Ambroult, according to the lawsuit, ignored mechanical problems with the aircraft and negligently flown when he shouldn’t have. Salinas testified in an investigation with the NTSB that he witnessed the propellers of the plane stopping while in mid-flight. According to reports, Ambroult never used his radio to make distress calls and relied on the passengers to help him operate the airplane. The lawsuit also targets the company that hired Ambroult because they knowingly put their customers’ lives in the hands of an aircraft and pilot that were both dangerous.
Brown claims that state troopers, while searching the heavily-wooded area, did not conduct the search for a sufficient time to save herself and Salinas from further injury. State troopers, on the other hand, maintain that they did a proper search in an area that is heavily forested. She is seeking to cover medical costs as well as compensation for her physical and mental pain and suffering.
