Sun 'N Fun Mid-Air Collision in Lakeland
On April 5, 2002, two planes crashed on the short final at the annual Sun ‘N Fun Fly-In in Lakeland, Florida. One of the planes was an RV-6A, a kit-built aircraft, and the other was a Piper PA-16. The pilot of the RV-6A was killed and the other pilot survived.
Mr. Hill joined a national aviation-law firm in representing the family of the dead pilot against the operators of the Fly-In and the United States government controllers.
The claim by the family concerned the operating procedure used by the Fly-In to handle traffic at the airport. Lakeland is normally a tower-controlled airfield with positive, two-way radio contact for all traffic. For the Fly-In, however, this procedure was changed. Pilots were told to hang up their microphones and listen to the instructions of spotters on the ground. There was no positive identification of aircraft by call signs.
On the day of the accident, both of the accident planes entered the pattern in the normal fashion and listened for instructions. Both were told to make turns at the downwind and base legs, putting them dangerously close when they turned final.
Through radar and voice-transmission tapes, Mr. Hill and his co-counsel were able to show that at the critical moment when the aircraft turned final, the controller was distracted by another plane on the runway. By the time the controller turned back to see the planes on the final, it was too late to avoid the collision.
After extensive litigation, the government and Sun ‘N Fun agreed to a settlement, which included all of the damages allowed by Florida’s Wrongful Death Law.