US judge reopens $6.5m lawsuit blaming Reno air traffic controllers for fatal crash in 2016

A judge in Nevada has reopened a federal lawsuit accusing air traffic controllers of causing the 2016 fatal crash of a small airplane that veered into turbulence in the wake of a jetliner before it went down near Reno-Tahoe International Airport. The families of the pilot and a passenger killed are seeking up to $6.5m in damages from the FAA. U.S. District Court Judge Miranda Du dismissed the case in 2022 after she concluded the 73-year-old pilot’s negligence was the sole cause of the crash. But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently overturned her ruling and ordered her to re-evaluate whether the air traffic controller shared any responsibility for the deaths of pilot John Brown and passenger James Elliker. Brown was an experienced pilot and professional flight instructor. His widow and two of his children first sued the FAA in 2019 after the National Transportation Safety Board concluded miscommunication between Brown and the control tower likely contributed to the accident. The NTSB also cited the pilot’s judgment, alertness and fatigue as factors in the crash on Aug. 30, 2016.<br/>