Beasley Allen lawyers, Mike Andrews and Rob Register, have filed a lawsuit on behalf of the family of Lauren Harrington against the Estate of Jonathan Rosen, who was piloting the plane that crashed at the Dekalb-Peachtree Airport outside of Atlanta, Georgia, on Oct. 8, killing Harrington and all others on board. The lawsuit also names as defendants two companies, Algab Holdings, LLC and JDR Capital Holdings, LLC.
“Mr. Rosen failed to recognize the grave danger of operating an airplane negligently and without proper training, and as a result, our client’s family member was killed,” said Beasley Allen attorney Mike Andrews. Andrews is a lawyer in the firm’s Personal Injury & Product Liability Section who focuses much of his practice on aviation litigation and has been assisting Lauren’s family with the investigation.
Federal investigators reported that Rosen’s plane, a Cessna P210N, had been fully fueled and was bound for Houston, Texas. Airport security surveillance video showed that the aircraft lifted off about 1,000 feet down the runway in a nose-high attitude before rolling to the left and reached an inverted attitude before crashing to the ground nose first beside the runway. After impacting the ground, the aircraft was engulfed in flames and incinerated within minutes because of the large amount of jet fuel.
The aircraft’s engine was recently upgraded from a Continental engine to a Rolls Royce turbine engine, which consumes more fuel because it can carry more weight. The plane was also outfitted with an additional fuel tank to meet the new engine’s need.
The lawsuit alleges that Rosen lacked sufficient training, experience and skill and had less than two total flight hours’ experience with the air in its modified configuration and participated in only one day of a five-day course training on the aircraft. The plaintiffs also allege that Rosen failed to maintain control of the airplane and properly inspect the plane before the flight. Further, the lawsuit asserts that Rosen negligently and improperly calculated the aircraft’s center of gravity, resulting in an aft center of gravity beyond the proper operating limits, causing instability that led or contributed to the Atlanta plane crash.
“As the pilot of the airplane in question, Mr. Rosen was responsible for ensuring the aircraft is in safe working condition and keeping passengers safe throughout the entire flight, from takeoff to landing. Quite simply – he failed Ms. Harrington and the others who tragically died in the crash.”
– Mike Andrews, Beasley Allen Attorney
The lawsuit was filed in the State Court of Dekalb County, Georgia, case number 21A05613.