A civil trial stemming from a 2005 Martha’s Vineyard plane crash that left its pilot a paraplegic ended suddenly yesterday following a settlement, the Vineyard Gazette reports.
Pilot Alec Naiman and Cessna Aircraft Co. reached the settlement, the terms of which were not disclosed, attorneys for Naiman and Cessna told the Gazette.
A civil trial on the suit began more than three weeks ago on Martha’s Vineyard.
Two other plaintiffs in the civil suit filed against Cessna, Jeffrey and Jessica Willoughby, settled last week. The Willoughbys were passengers in the Cessna 172-N plane that crashed on June 23, 2005 at Katama airfield.
All three plaintiffs in the suit are deaf and were part of a Deaf Pilots Association “fly-in” event on the island when their Cessna plane crashed into a field near Edgartown-Katama Airpark.
At “fly-in” events, deaf pilots gather at a location and make flights out to nearby airports.
Read the full Vineyard Gazette story published below.
Plane Crash Trial Ends Abruptly as Pilot Settles
The long trial that pitted Cessna Aircraft Company against a pilot who suffered crippling injuries in a 2005 plane crash at Katama airfield ended abruptly Wednesday in a confidential settlement, lawyers said.
After nearly a month of testimony and on the eve of closing arguments, lawyers conferred during a sidebar with Dukes county superior court Judge Cornelius Moriarty 2nd and Alec Naiman, pilot of the Cessna 172-N plane that crashed on June 23, 2005.
When they emerged, the case had ended. Although there was no formal announcement, Donald J. Nolan, one of Mr. Naiman’s lawyers, and Ralph G. Wellington, an attorney for Cessna, confirmed that the case had been settled and the terms were confidential.
Mr. Naiman, who is deaf, has been confined to a wheelchair since the crash. He was part of a Deaf Pilots Association “fly-in” in which about 10 planes headed to Katama from Plymouth. Mr. Naiman’s two passengers, Jeffrey Willoughby, and his daughter Jessica, settled with Cessna late last week.
The case was unusual because it included the constant presence of sign language intepreters for the plaintiffs, and was conducted in a cramped, makeshift courtroom in the Edgartown town hall. The first-floor selectmen’s hearing room provided easier access for Mr. Naiman and averted tying up a busy courtroom across the street for a month.
“All the parties wanted to thank the citizens of Martha’s Vineyard, especially the jurors who were attentive and devoted,” said Thomas P. Routh, a lawyer for Mr. Naiman.
Sources: The Vineyard Gazette, Cape Cod Times
