Riverside Plane Crash Claims Four Lives: What Victims and Families Can Do

On February 27, 2017, a Cessna 310 carrying five people crashed into a Riverside neighborhood shortly after taking off from Riverside Municipal Airport, on the return leg of a trip from a Disney park cheerleading competition. The plane came down in a residential area, destroying homes on impact. Four of the five people aboard died; one survived with serious injuries. Remarkably, no one on the ground was killed, though at least one resident was home at the time, it was the second small plane crash in that same neighborhood within two years.

Quick answer: After a small plane crash, potential defendants can include the pilot, the aircraft’s owner or operator, and a maintenance provider, but the aircraft manufacturer is often protected from liability once a plane is older than 18 years under a federal law called the General Aviation Revitalization Act, with some important exceptions.

A Tragedy for Passengers and Residents

The five people aboard ranged in age from 22 to 83. A witness at the airport reported that the pilot had experienced difficulty starting the engine before departing, choosing to take off anyway to take advantage of favorable weather. The aircraft, a 1974-built Cessna T310Q, struck at least two homes, and video of the crash later circulated widely. That no one on the ground was killed, given the direct impact on occupied homes, is its own small miracle in an otherwise devastating event.

Investigation Underway

The National Transportation Safety Board opened an investigation immediately after the crash, examining the pilot, the aircraft, and environmental conditions as potential factors, standard practice for any fatal general aviation accident. NTSB investigations like this one typically take one to two years to reach a final determination, so by now the case would be closed on the agency’s end. What’s less well known is that the NTSB’s conclusions don’t actually carry over into a civil lawsuit the way people assume; federal law (49 U.S.C. § 1154(b)) explicitly bars the NTSB’s own probable cause findings from being used as evidence in a civil case, even once they’re finalized. Purely factual details from the investigation, like weather conditions and aircraft specifications, can still be used, but families pursuing a claim generally need to independently prove what caused the crash rather than simply pointing to the NTSB’s conclusion.

Small plane crashes like this one aren’t as rare as most people assume: as many as five small plane crashes happen somewhere in the United States on an average day, resulting in roughly 500 deaths a year.

Lost a Loved One or Injured in a Plane Crash? Our attorneys can build your case independently of the NTSB’s timeline. Call DKB Lawyers at (949) 776-2856 for a free consultation.

Who Can Be Held Liable After a Small Plane Crash?

Aviation accident claims often involve more potential defendants than people expect. The pilot can be liable for errors in judgment, like departing despite a known mechanical problem. The aircraft’s owner or operator can face liability for negligent maintenance or for allowing an unqualified pilot to fly. A maintenance company can be liable if faulty repair work contributed to a mechanical failure. And in some circumstances, the aircraft or parts manufacturer can be liable for a design or manufacturing defect, though, as the next section explains, that path closes for most older aircraft.

Why the Aircraft's Age Matters: The General Aviation Revitalization Act

A federal law called the General Aviation Revitalization Act (GARA) generally shields aircraft and parts manufacturers from liability once 18 years have passed since the specific aircraft or part was delivered to its first purchaser. A plane built in 1974, like the one in this crash, would be more than 40 years past that window by 2017, meaning a design-defect claim against the manufacturer would very likely be barred entirely, regardless of how the crash actually happened. GARA does carve out some important exceptions: a replacement part installed within the last 18 years restarts the clock for that specific component, manufacturers who concealed a known defect from the FAA lose the protection entirely, and, notably for a crash like this one, injuries to people who weren’t aboard the aircraft, such as the homeowners whose houses were struck, generally aren’t barred by GARA at all, even against an old aircraft’s manufacturer.

Not Sure Who’s Liable for Your Aviation Accident? Identifying the right defendant matters even more with older aircraft. Call DKB Lawyers at (949) 776-2856 for a free case review.