Incident Involving Cessna Plane

Travel lawyers at Irwin Mitchell have expressed their concern following a plane crash at Birmingham Airport involving a Cessna plane.

Clive Garner, Head of Aviation Law at the firm said today: “Cessna small aircraft are very popular with both individuals and businesses around the world. However, this latest crash at Birmingham Airport is the most recent in a number of serious accidents involving Cessna planes.”

Lawyers at the firm already act for a number of victims and the families of those killed in Cessna crashes. These include the Cessna crash that killed four British passengers in Peru in October 2010.

The firm also represents victims of other Cessna aircraft that crashed in Venezuela in April 2009, the Farnborough air crash in March 2008 and an earlier Cessna crash in Tanzania.

“We are investigating the cause of all of these accidents and we are analysing any possible similarities between these and other Cessna crashes around the world,” said Mr Garner.

“In addition, we act for the family of a passenger killed in another light aircraft crash at Oxford Airport in January 2010. The inquest into his death will go ahead on 23rd November.”

Mr Garner added: “It will be sometime before we fully understand the cause of this latest Cessna crash at Birmingham Airport. There are reports that the plane collided with the instrument landing system glide path antennae (ILS), while eye witness reports suggest that flames were seen coming from the aircraft before it hit the ground. This points to the possibility of a mechanical or electrical problem on board.

“We will probably not fully understand what went wrong until the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) has completed its investigations into the incident.

“We trust that the AAIB will carry out their investigation with their usual thoroughness and hope that a preliminary report will be available shortly.

“Meanwhile, our thoughts are with those injured in the aircraft and their families.”