Specialist Aviation Lawyers Say Families Want To Know Cause of Crash Which Killed Their Loved Ones And 41 others Onboard

Lawyers representing the families of three British passengers who died when a plane crashed into a mountain in Afghanistan say their fight for answers will continue after an inquest heard that crucial eye-witness evidence into the cause of the incident has yet to be released.
 
The domestic Pamir Airways Flight 112 was travelling from Kunduz to Kabul when it crashed into a mountain just 12 miles from its destination on 17 May 2010 killing all 44 passengers on board.
 
An inquest was held at Bradford Crown Court today (22 June 2015) into the deaths of David Taylor, 28, from Stoke on Trent, Daniel Saville, 40, from Clapham, London, and father of three Chris Carter, 51, from Caerphilly, Wales.
 
Specialist aviation lawyers at Irwin Mitchell are representing their families as well as working with the representatives of 24 Afghan victims and one US family. The cases are currently being litigated in the US state of Illinois against Midwest ATC, the US company providing the air traffic control service at the time of the crash, and Honeywell, the manufacturer of the aircraft’s ground proximity warning system.
 
At the Inquest, expert aviation lawyer Jim Morris from Irwin Mitchell asked the coroner to adjourn the hearing so that emerging evidence could be considered. The evidence is an eye-witness account from the air traffic controller communicating with the aircraft at the time but its contents cannot yet been revealed.
 
After turning down the postponement and hearing other evidence, the coroner concluded that the deaths were accidental but he said in his summing up that a misunderstanding between air traffic control and the crew on-board was also a cause of the accident.
 
Jim Morris, a Partner in the Irwin Mitchell Aviation Law team and a former RAF pilot, said:

 Kim Taylor, who lost her son David in the tragedy said: “We are angry that the coroner would not adjourn the inquest for the evidence of the Air Traffic Controller. We cannot fully come to terms with losing David.”
 
Daniel Saville's partner Chioma Ibe, said: “We are disappointed that five years on we have no closure, no answers and no apology. I feel let down by the coroner who did not assist in including important evidence.”

Read more about Irwin Mitchell's expertise in Air Accident Claims.