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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Sandy Williams’ estate sues floatplane operator year after crash

U.S. Coast Guard Search and Rescue director Scott J. Giard speaks at a news conference on Whidbey Island in 2022 about efforts to find survivors of the floatplane that crashed.  (Seattle Times)
By Paige Cornwell Seattle Times

Representatives for eight of the nine passengers killed in the seaplane crash off Whidbey Island are suing the flight’s charter operator and aircraft manufacturer, saying they are responsible for the victims’ deaths.

The three lawsuits, filed Tuesday in King County Superior Court, name Northwest Seaplanes and De Havilland Aircraft of Canada, among other aviation entities, as defendants. The single-engine De Havilland Canada DHC-3 Turbine Otter that crashed was owned by Northwest Seaplanes and operated by Friday Harbor Seaplanes.

The pilot and nine passengers were killed Sept. 4, 2022, when the plane, en route to Renton from Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands, plummeted into Mutiny Bay off Whidbey Island.

One complaint alleges the crash was “entirely preventable” and the aviation companies are liable for damages. The three lawsuits are similar in their allegations, as well as the descriptions of the pain and suffering the victims allegedly faced in the moments before their deaths.

Representatives for the estates of Lauren Hilty, 39, and her unborn son, Luca; Joanne Mera; Gabrielle Hanna; and Sandy Williams filed one wrongful death lawsuit. Williams, 60, was a Spokane civil rights activist who founded the Carl Maxey Center and the Black Lens newspaper. Mera, 60, was a business owner from San Diego. Hanna, 29, was a Seattle lawyer who was on her way home from a friend’s wedding.

Representatives for Hilty’s husband, Ross Mickel, 47, and their 22-month-old son Remy Mickel filed the second lawsuit. Hilty, who was 8 months pregnant, Mickel, and Remy were returning to their Medina home from a Labor Day weekend trip. Representatives for Rebecca and Luke Ludwig, a Minnesota couple who had two children, filed the third.

Pilot Jason Winters, a longtime commercial pilot; and passenger Patricia Hicks, a retired teacher and Williams’ partner, were also killed in the crash.

A preliminary investigation from the National Transportation Safety Board found a component that controlled the movement of the plane’s horizontal tail had come apart. This left the pilot with no ability to control the plane’s pitch, causing the plane to dive in a near-vertical descent into the water.

Nate Bingham, one of the attorneys representing the Ludwigs’ families, said Thursday the plane crashed because of “an antiquated design with a single point of failure.”

The lawsuits allege the defendants and its subsidiaries should have maintained and inspected the aircraft, and had a duty to ensure a safe flight.

A De Havilland of Canada spokesperson declined to comment Thursday. Northwest Seaplanes did not respond to requests for comment, but last year said it was “heartbroken” over the incident.