The Cedar Rapids Gazette , Tue., Sept., 15, 1992

FAIR HELICOPTER CRASH SETTLED FOR $1.2 MILLION
By Dick Hogan
Gazette courts reporter

A $1.2 million settlement has been reached in a suit over a fiery, fatal helicopter crash at the 1990 All Iowa Fair.

One-third of the settlement will go to one victim's sister, who witnessed the crash. Plaintiffs' attorney Tom Riley said the award may be the largest so far under Iowa's "bystander liability law."

Killed in the crash the night of June 15, 1990, were Carey Lee Carnahan, 18, and her fianc\'e9e, Shane B. Burlingame, 20, both of Cedar Rapids. The helicopter pilot, Thomas C. Brooks, 31, of Eaton Rapids, Mich., also died in the accident.

Riley said the case was referred to his office by Gregory Kingery of Cedar Rapids and the two firms will split evenly a 30 percent fee. The attorney fee and other expenses, which Riley said "were under $10,000," will come out of the settlement.

Trial of the long-pending case had been slated to begin Monday, but the settlement was agreed upon after 5 p.m. Friday, said attorney Bob Rush, who represented the defendants, Badger Helicopters of Janesville, Wis., Brooks' Estate and the All Iowa Agricultural Association. Badger was the owner of the aircraft, which was being used to give rides to the public.

Lynette Carnahan, who was 17 at the time of the accident, witnessed the takeoff, saw her sister waiving goodbye, then saw the helicopter crash. "She gets $400,000 for her emotional distress she experienced watching her sister get killed," Riley explained.

"EVERYBODY SUFFERS grief, but grief isn't allowed under Iowa law as a measure of damage. A couple of parents had seen the crash, but didn't know their kids were on the helicopter. It's a matter of knowing and the terror of seeing the crash. It affects you more vividly," Riley added.

Riley contended the pilot was entirely at fault for the crash and said expert witness for the plaintiffs would have testified that the tape showed spatial disorientation due to the lights at night.

But Rush countered that the National Transportation Safety Board had not been able to determine the cause of the accident and had not issued any opinion to support the theory of pilot error.

The NTSB probe detected no mechanical problems in the helicopter.

....................................................................................................................

Copyright Tom Riley Law Firm, P.L.C.  Phone: (319) 363-4040  -  Fax: (319) 363-9789   A Bassett Enterprises, LLC Design.