Jury clears Hendrick pilots of willful and reckless negligence in crash
Hendrick Motorsports pilots Richard Tracy and Elizabeth Morrison were not willfully and recklessly negligent in the October 2004 crash near Martinsville, Va., that killed 10 people, a federal jury has decided in U.S. District Court in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The decision, filed May 5 and entered into the court docket Thursday, ended the first phase of the trials surrounding the crash, which killed four members of the Hendrick family, two Hendrick employees, two others and both pilots.
The verdict, which followed a 10-day trial, ended the first of two trials associated with the crash. The second phase will be a bench trial, which will begin July 7.
The jury trial centered around a claim from widow Dianne Dorton, wife of HMS engine builder Randy Dorton, on whether the pilots’ estates could be held liable for the actions of the pilots. The jury decided that the actions of the pilots did not meet the negligence requirements for their estates to be held liable.
The bench trial will cover five cases involving widows Dorton; Linda Turner, wife of HMS general manager Jeff Turner; and Tracy Lathram, wife of Tony Stewart pilot Scott Lathram, a passenger on the plane; HMS Holdings, parent company of Hendrick Motorsports; and the United States.
According to court documents, the crash resulted when the pilots overshot the airport by five miles and failed to follow the missed-approach procedure for the Martinsville/Blue Ridge Airport, which requires a climbing right turn to avoid Bull Mountain. The plane, in heavy cloud cover, climbed without turning and crashed into the mountain, killing all 10 aboard.
According to court documents, the government blames Tracy and Morrison for failing to follow procedure. Hendrick and the widows believe the government shares some of the responsibility for the actions of the air-traffic controllers. Dorton’s complaint alleges that the air-traffic controllers did not attempt to contact the pilots even though the plane was descending at 2,500 feet above the end of the runway and continued toward the mountain for more than four minutes until the crash. Hendrick alleges in court documents that the controllers ignored a visual and audible alarm specifically designed to warn them that the aircraft was dangerously close to terrain.
The government contends that the air-traffic controllers were not responsible because the pilots had been given clearance to land without the use of air-traffic control but instead just by using their instruments; that the pilots were using instruments not certified for such a landing; and that the pilots still could have avoided the accident if they made a climbing right turn once they realized their missed approach.
Hendrick already has settled suits with Lathram and Turner. It is asking for the government to contribute to those settlements, as well as an out-of-court settlement with the family of DuPont executive Joe Jackson. All sides could still reach a settlement prior to the start or during the trial.
Among those killed in the crash were team owner Rick Hendrick’s son, Ricky, as well as Rick’s brother, John (president of Hendrick Motorsports) and John’s daughters Kimberly and Jennifer.
