Largest Aviation Verdict Ever in Volusia County FL

$53 Million Verdict Awarded in Florida Cessna 150 Crash
$1.5 Million in Punitive Damages also Awarded to Flight Instructor and Student Pilot

Terence R. Perkins, of SMITH HOOD PERKINS in Daytona Beach, together with Arthur A. Wolk, Philip J. Ford and Cheryl DeLisle of the Wolk Law Firm, obtained the largest aviation verdict ever in Volusia County, Florida on July 26, 2007. The jury returned a verdict of more than $53 million in compensatory damages, allocating 70 percent to Precision Airmotive, LLC, maker of aircraft carburetors, and 30 percent to Teledyne Continental Motors and Teledyne Technologies, makers of aircraft engines. The jury also returned a $1.5 million verdict in punitive damages against Precision.

The trial ended, and the verdict was handed down, nearly eight years to the day after the Cessna 150 training aircraft crashed when its Teledyne engine failed on a nighttime takeoff from the Ormond Beach Municipal Airport in Florida. The crash severely injured the two occupants, a flight instructor and a student pilot. The occupants suffered facial injuries which required extensive reconstructive surgery, and both individuals suffered years of depression and anxiety from post traumatic stress disorder. Both victims were working towards airline careers and as a result of their injuries, were foreclosed from that occupation.