Editorial: First Reno Air Race Accident Lawsuit Filed
By Nicholas A. Veronico
Negligent. In aviation that’s a foul word. In legal terms it is devastating.
On Nov. 2, the Reno Gazette Journal reported that the first lawsuit stemming from the tragedy at this year’s National Championship Air Races had been filed in Collin County, Texas. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the family of one of the spectators who perished when the Galloping Ghost crashed into the box seating area in front of the grandstands at this year’s air races in September.
The $25 million lawsuit names the late Jimmy Leeward, his son Dirk, Leeward Air Racing, engine builder Richard Shanholtzer Jr., and Aeroacoustics, Inc., an aerodynamic design firm that has developed racing modifications for dozens of Unlimited air racers as defendants.
Quoting from an Associated Press story on Nov. 2, the plaintiff’s attorney said, “he wanted to hold two groups of wrongdoers [accountable]. Those who pushed the limits of physics on the plane, being risk takers and reckless without regard for the people who might be watching them, and those who promoted and profited from hosting the show.”
Yes, it is a tragedy that 10 spectators and the pilot lost their lives, and yes their families should be compensated for their losses as they will be sorely missed both emotionally and financially. However, the plaintiff’s attorney’s desire to hold people accountable for this tragedy are the reasons why the amount of damages should be limited, and his argument truly has no merit. Can’t these families be compensated fairly without having to go through a bloated legal process that targets innocent parties?
Consider that “highly paid” workers in the United States are judged to earn more than $150,000 per year. With a working lifetime of 40 years, that equals out to about $8 million – a compensation number fair to each family and affordable to the insurance companies. Filing suit for $25 million is excessive. One has to wonder how much of the lawsuit’s sought-after $25 million will end up in the hands of the plaintiff’s attorneys and how much the family will actually receive. After fees and other costs, my guess is the family will come out with about $8 to $10 million, which, again, seems fair, however, $15 million to extract that amount from the race insurers and small businesses that support this sport seems unjust.
Now consider the parties this attorney wants to sue: “…those who promoted and profited from hosting the show.” That’s a pretty broad brush, and when you get right down to it, a stroke from that brush includes “profitees” such as the State of Nevada, Washoe County, the City of Reno, all of the airlines that service Reno, Sacramento, and San Francisco, all of the car rental agencies, hundreds of Reno/Tahoe hotels and motels, the casinos – large and small – who raise table minimums just before the air racing crowd arrives in town, all of the restaurants, gas stations, retail shops, and a myriad of mom-and-pop shops in the region. All of these groups and many thousands of individuals profited, directly or indirectly, from the estimated $90+ million economic impact that the air races have on the region each year. Why not go after them as well?
National Championship Air Races: Ever Been?
When it comes to the trial, most people involved in the forthcoming legal process will never have attended the National Championship Air Races (NCAR). They will have preconceived ideas that the NCAR is a weeklong daredevil stunt event and free-for-all in the sky that is unsupervised, unscientific, and out of control. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
The races are run under the auspices of the Reno Air Racing Association (RARA), a body comprised of business and civic community leaders, entrepreneurs, and other professionals. Their skill and professionalism is demonstrated in the fact that the 2011 races were the event’s 48th running. Through the years, as a result of RARA’s guidance and thousands of dedicated volunteers, the air races have become a highly polished, well-orchestrated community event that draws 50,000 to 60,000 people per day – no small undertaking.
In addition, this event is carried out under the watchful eyes of the Federal Aviation Administration, the Reno Police Department, Reno Health Department, and many other governing agencies. When the FAA says something, RARA immediately jumps – nothing to be ashamed of and a trait common in the relationship between all airshow promoters and the aviation agency. Know that the FAA “provides guidance” (read: dictates) about everything from when props can turn, to who can be on the ramp, to the distances between the performances and the crowd, and when aircraft can come and go. Airshows in general, and the air races in particular, do not lack for FAA oversight, nor should they. This oversight has kept the National Championship Air Races safe for spectators for 47 years.
RARA and the FAA have expended great effort to keep the crowds and the staff safe while attempting to anticipate every potential hazard. An example of this forward thinking is the cement barriers that appeared a few years ago in front of the pits, in-line with Pylon 8 and the grandstands. This was done to keep debris from traveling toward the crowd should an accident occur as the racers turned toward the home pylon. They do not interrupt spectators’ line of sight to the races and most people hardly know they’re there. But they are there for a reason, and a reason everyone hopes will never be needed.
Insurance Category: An Act of God
To be honest, I don’t think anyone in RARA, the FAA, or any of the racing classes ever envisioned the catastrophe that was the Galloping Ghost accident. I, for one, always thought about the potential of a Beguine-style accident where, in 1949, a 400+ mph racer flew into a home below the race course killing a woman and her young child. Keep in mind that the 1949 race course in Cleveland was laid out over towns and individual homes, which is extremely different than the sterile race course enjoyed at today’s NCAR. However, as housing and industrial development in Lemon Valley and surrounding areas creeps ever-closer to the race course, this thought has been in the backs of many people’s minds.
The fact that show/race aircraft are not allowed to fly toward or over the crowd demonstrates due diligence in protecting spectators. I don’t believe anyone ever imagined that an aircraft would threaten spectators from behind and an accident like the Galloping Ghost’s truly falls under the insurance category of “An Act of God.”
Considering all of the preparation and planning by RARA under FAA supervision, negligent is not a word that can be associated with this event or the racing community.
Collateral Damage
This lawsuit, and the ones that are certain to follow, will do as much damage to the defendants as losing a loved one did to the surviving families. What will a claim of negligence do to the engine builder and his employees? If, for some reason, the engine builder can be construed as at fault, his insurance company will pay and he’ll probably go out of business. The employees will be out on the street, and their families will be greatly impacted as well. Will the “negligent” branding of the courts follow those workers around like a scarlet letter? Who will compensate them for their losses? The same holds true for the aerodynamicist, the people who worked for the now-grieving Leeward family, the folks at RARA, and all of the people who benefit from the races’ estimated $90+ million per year economic impact.
More shotgun-style lawsuits will follow where every pocket is emptied until only the deepest one is left standing, nearly empty. In court, the charge that RARA, and the FAA, were negligent in promoting and profiting from the event will be shown to have no merit. If, by some chance it does, Formula One, NASCAR, and all other types of motorsports will come under legal attack in the United States.
This accident was caused by physical forces overcoming human-made machinery – nothing else. Negligence is not even a factor. Let’s come to a compromise by quickly and fairly compensating the families of those who perished while preserving and continuing the air racing traditions begun in Reno in 1964. Each life lost is a tragedy and we should honor the memory of those who perished by continuing to race and allowing our community to heal and move forward.
If RARA and the FAA are guilty of anything, it’s not taking action to prevent the “unknown unknowns.” Try and prove that in court.
Full disclosure: Nicholas A. Veronico’s family began attending the air races in 1964, and have done so ever since. The author only missed one NCAR race between 1981 and 2011, and he has a good excuse for that absence. He bases his opinion on years as an interested spectator, and is the co-author of Raceplane Tech (vol. I): Griffon-Powered Mustangs; Raceplane Tech (vol. II): Racing Bearcats and Corsairs; and F4U Corsair: The Combat, Development, and Racing History of the Corsair. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author of this column.
