Copilot files lawsuit in 2004 plane crash that killed NBC exec Dick Ebersol's son
Wednesday July 12, 2006
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) The copilot of the airplane that crashed in 2004, killing the youngest son of NBC Sports executive Dick Ebersol and two others, has filed a negligence lawsuit against the aircraft's maker, owner and charter company.

Eric Sloan Wicksell of Daytona Beach claims in the lawsuit that the plane was defective because operating and training manuals didn't disclose that it was highly susceptible to icing.

The National Transportation Safety Board concluded in May that the pilot's failure to carefully examine the wings for icing probably caused the crash.

The twin-engine Canadair crashed Nov. 28, 2004, as it was taking off from Montrose, Colo., killing 14-year-old Teddy Ebersol, pilot Luis Polanco-Espaillat and flight attendant Warren Richardson III.

Wicksell was injured, as were Dick Ebersol and another son, Charlie Ebersol.

The lawsuit, filed earlier this month in Broward County, seeks unspecified damages. Defendants include Montreal-based aircraft maker Bombardier Corp. and Hop-A-Jet Inc., a Fort Lauderdale-based charter service that owned the airplane.

Representatives of the companies did not return calls seeking comment Wednesday.

I posted this on another forum...this guy is an insult to pilots. If I could meet him face to face, I would beat the $hit out of him personally. He is just a stupid money-grubber who is tying to make a buck off of his very own f-ups. He should be shot.

I HOPE the Ebersols SUE HIS a$$.

There is a law in Physics...I think it's called "The Law of Unforeseen Circumstances"...Even with all the test flights, training, and countless flights of a type of aircraft. Things will happen that no person or persons could have thought would happen. Then came the Lawyer.

I guess I agree with dhc8fo, although I couldnt fight my may out of a wet paper sack and I dought I could shoot him based on the fact the only way I would shoot a gun at another perseon is over my shoulder as Im running away (I learned that in the first Gulf War) I do know this.....Corporate de-iceing is not as structured or monitered as it maybe it should be....and at some airports it is non-existent...I hear guys talk all the time..."I know exactley how much snow can be on my wings and still be fine"....."its too much hassle"
"it costs too much"...."lets just smooth out the frost with our gloves and it should be fine, what about the tail sir?...hmmm no ladder, oh it should be ok"
The fact is a lot of corporate jets dont get de-iced when they should (some do) a lot dont!!! Its all part of that Part 91 flying.....Im not so sure but what Part 91 could use a little tweaking. I do know that the flight was a charter so it didnt fall under part 91, but still. Before the corporate guys start dogging me I was once corporate turned airline turned back to corporate (01 was a bad year)

I have yet to see an aircraft manual, a training manual, or any other aviation printed material that condones taking off with a contaminated wing, or says that it's ok to take off with just a bit of ice. His argument that the aircraft was defective because the manuals didn't say the aircraft was suceptible to icing is a crock. With so many lawsuits these days I imagine that the legal profession is one of the most robust and fastest growing sectors of our economy. YUCK

When I was flying a Hawker for both 91 and 135 this was a non-issue! If it was below freezing and visible moisture was on the aircraft is got deiced. Whether we hangared it for the night or even a couple of hours to melt it off. If we didn't have the time or ability to do that, we payed the $15 a gallon for the fluid.

Doesn't this guy have a responsibility to his captain , his profession ,and his passangers to point out a possible icing scenario? There's a reason for two crew members.

-LAFF

Whoever they are , they say there is a chain of events that lead up to an accident. Having said that, YES the Challenger needed to be deiced, duh! But wait there's MORE! I'm a part 91 owner flown CJ2 ATP that flys single pilot. (I'm sure there are thoughts that range from "dude cool" to "what a moron") Anyway, I departed Montrose (MTJ) shortly after Ebersols plane left. Hmmmm Credibility!
Did you know that Ebersols plane departed the shorter, narrower contaminated runway when there was a longer, wider, clean runway available? The difference in taxi time from rwy 31 (the departure runway) to rwy 35 the better runway is negligible, so that wasn't it. How about the obstacle departure procedure? Ryw 31's dp is make a 13 degree left turn and fly the 297 radial of the MTJ VOR to GJT. Easy isn't it. Now take rwy 35, the DP is: climbing left turn to 7000' (you start at 5800'), join the MTJ 297 radial and when reaching 700' make an almost 270 degree back to the MJ VOR and enter the holding pattern and then depart the hold at the MEA of the Victor airway. Who wants to do low level maneuvering in icing IMC in a non-radar, non-towered mountainous environment? Or do you want to fly straight out? (I did the rwy 35 DP).

The BIG question is: would the extra 2500 feet of rwy on ryw 35 have made a difference? Could he have stopped on the runway when he figured out it wasn't going to fly?

What do they say about fuel in the truck, sky above you and runway behind you?

They could have had a 15,000' long runway and it still would not have mattered. If there is ice on the wings??? then game over. The airplane performed as advertised... unfortunately very poorly with ice on the wings and potential for possible in-gestation of FOD into the engines by taking off on a more contaminated runway.

It’s the first officer that should be sued by the survivors for gross negligence. But you know the bottom feeding scum sucking attorneys... they will go for anything no matter how outrageous the case.

Look the bottom line is that there was ice on the wing. They chose to ignore this hazard. The strapped the jet onto their backs with innocent unsuspecting passengers and a flight attendant in the back. They took off and well you all know the rest of the story. It’s a tragedy the first office will have to live with for the rest of his life.

Is there any way you could contact the defense's attorney and ask to testify against the copilot??