In December of 1903 a small craft soared to an altitude of 10 feet and traveled 120 feet. It landed 12 seconds after takeoff. That is how one of mankind's greatest longings took place. Orville and Wilbur Wright made it possible: they invented the first airplane of history.
Since then, lots of improvements have been made in order to better the quality of flights and the performance of the airplanes. Nevertheless, in spite of all the efforts made by engineers all around the world aviation accidents have been a cause of grief for many people. Sometimes, caused by human mistakes, sometimes by mechanical failures; the truth is that aviation disasters have always been a topic for discussion.
Airplane crashes occur at an alarming rate as the number of pilots, airplanes and flights grow. When an accident takes place, people usually do not know how to proceed, regarding all the legal implications. In the United States, aviation law governs the operation of aircraft and the maintenance of aviation facilities. The federal and state governments have enacted statutes and created administrative agencies to regulate air traffic. These agencies rely on constitutional authority to regulate interstate and foreign flights. The Congress is the one in charge of enacting laws pertaining to air navigation.
There are specialized lawyers who really know the in-depths of these types of cases. Aviation accidents lawsuits are quite complex, they involve many factors: bad weather, pilot errors, improper maintenance, design defects, manufacturing mistakes and controller errors.
The most difficult part deals with the investigations required to prove any of the above. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will usually conduct an investigation to secure the scene. Anyhow government officials are not 100% reliable: they will not always preserve all the evidence, reach proper conclusions or even act in a proper manner toward potential litigation.
The most important part of any case is to obtain a copy of the NTSB report and have an aviation expert reviewing all the evidence.