114 West Elm Street Graham, NC 27253 Phone: 336.228.7851
An aerospace parts manufacturing and maintenance company in Gibsonville was sued for allegedly selling defective fuel pumps and components. The plaintiff blamed it on "catastrophic engine failure," which they said caused serious and permanent damage to flight instructors. Injuries and caused the death of a "pilot". "Student pilot" because of injuries in a plane crash in May 2019.
The plane crash allegedly occurred on May 6, 2019 at a municipal airport in Welfare, Alabama, but because the defendant company is located in Gibsonville and Burlington, the lawsuit was filed in the Alamance County Civil Superior Court.
The lawsuit was filed against Tempest Aero Group, which owns two manufacturing and maintenance facilities in Gibsonville: a machine shop at 211 Chase Street; and a manufacturing and maintenance plant at 1240 Springwood Avenue. According to the Tempest Aero Group website, Tempest Aero Group also has an office at 2208 Air Park Drive in Burlington, responsible for the marketing and sales of the company's general aviation products.
Earlier this month, parents (appointed guardians/representatives in the litigation) filed a lawsuit against two people in the May 2019 crash. One of them died and the other was allegedly injured. The lawsuit alleges that flight instructor Jessica Pohlman (Jessica Pohlman) was incapacitated by the crash and was currently "in a vegetative or close to vegetative state." The lawsuit alleges that the student pilot Lee Carlton McCullar (Lee Carlton McCullar) was injured and killed in the crash.
The court documents listed the addresses of both groups of parents/guardians as Pensacola, Florida.
The lawsuit alleges that at some point in late July 2015, “a newly overhauled engine-driven fuel pump manufactured and assembled by Tempest and/or Aero Accessories” was installed on the aircraft, and that the aircraft was later in Alaba in May 2019. The state welfare crashed. (According to the complaint, the two manufacturing and maintenance facilities were separate entities before they merged into the "Storm Aviation Group.")
The lawsuit alleges that subsequent "post-crash investigations" and tests showed that the engine-driven fuel pump was not working properly and did not provide fuel flow.
Four loose screws were found on the periphery of the engine-driven fuel pump; according to the findings of the post-crash investigation outlined in the lawsuit, air bubbles were observed around the gasket of the fuel pump during startup.
In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs claimed that the “complete loss of engine power and the resulting collision” may have been caused by “one or more” problems found in the investigation after the collision.
The plaintiff further claimed that “as early as May 6, 2019”, Tempest Aero Group knew that the engine-driven fuel pump was defective, even though it had been certified by the federal government as “airworthy”.
The plaintiff claimed that these false statements about the airworthiness of the engine-driven fuel pump and/or its components were "directly related to the cause of the accident," the complaint alleged.
The lawsuit alleges that Tempest Aero Group deliberately misrepresented, concealed and/or concealed information and failed to notify the FAA and other regulatory agencies of the extent and severity of the engine-driven fuel pump and its components, accessories, and/or defects. The replacement part "caused a collision in whole or in part."
The lawsuit alleges that the defendant allegedly managed to conceal the "potential internal defect" of the engine-driven fuel pump because Tempest Aero Group sells its products in a "small and unique market", which obviously means that the public has no interest in the product for any problems. Beyond the niche aviation market.
On the contrary, the plaintiff claimed that Tempest Aero Group deliberately sold "defective and unreasonably dangerous" engine-driven fuel pumps and/or components; failed to issue a recall notice; and failed to notify its customers of the alleged problems.
The plaintiff is seeking separate awards for Tempest Aero Group’s compensatory damages exceeding 25,000 USD and punitive damages exceeding 25,000 USD.
Pohlman's parents/guardians also received compensatory and punitive compensation for her "abnormal" medical expenses; "loss of life pleasure"; pain and suffering; mental pain; emotional injury; and "fear and fear before and after impact" , They claimed that this was caused by the defendant’s “shameless, willful, reckless and reckless behavior”.
Allegedly, Polman suffered injuries after the plane crash in May 2019 including: traumatic brain injury with loss of consciousness; cardiac arrest; cerebral edema and cognitive impairment; acute anemia and acute kidney injury; subdural Hematomas and bleeding; and respiratory failure requiring breathing tubes; and dozens of other allegedly serious and debilitating injuries.
McCullar's parents/guardians are seeking compensation for his funeral expenses and expected future income, as well as pain and other alleged losses.
The plaintiff’s representatives are: Freedman Thompson Witt Ceberio & Byrd, a law firm in Winston Salem; and Speiser Krause, a law firm in Atlanta.
Lee McCullar's father, David C. McCullar, also sought damages in a separate negligent death claim, which his father believed was caused by the defendant's actions. The law firm of Hare Wynn Newell & Newton in Birmingham, Alabama represented David McCullar on the matter.
As of press time, Tempest Aero Group has not yet responded.