On Thursday, February 21, 2008, a plane carrying 46 people crashed into the Andes mountains in an area known as Los Conejos plateau within the Sierra La Culata National Park in western Venezuela. The wreckage from the twin-engine plane was found by rescue crews at an altitude of 13,500 feet, 6 miles from the city of Merida and 400 miles southwest of Caracas. Officials stated that none of the 46 on board survived. In addition to the Venezuelans on board, the plane crash victims include three Colombians and one U.S. citizen.
Flight 518 was operated by Santa Barbara Airlines, a small Venezuelan airline that covers domestic and international flights. The French-made ATR 42-300 aircraft was carrying 43 passengers and three crew members when it took off from Merida's airport en route to Simon Bolivar International Airport near Caracas.
Families whose
loved ones died or were injured in an
airplane accident are welcome to contact
a lawyer at Lieff Global to
learn more about their legal rights.
We welcome the opportunity to answer
your questions free of charge and without
obligation.
The flight was reported missing 30 minutes after taking off, and residents of the region reported hearing a loud, thunderous crash. Currently, there is no known cause for the crash. After take-off, the control tower received no further communication from the Santa Barbara Airlines’ pilots and officials report that weather conditions were typical for Merida. Specialists from the French manufacturer of the ATR 42-300 airplane and from Pratt and Whitney, the manufacturers of the airplane’s engines, as well as investigators from the French Accident Bureau, have been sent to Venezuela to assist in the investigation of the Merida crash. The black box recorders were recovered on Saturday, February 23, 2008.
The Legal Rights of Families Whose Loved
Ones Die in Airplane Disasters
We appreciate that this is a time of
deep pain and grief for the families of the passengers and
crew who died in the Santa Barbara crash in Venezuela. In the
coming weeks, however, you may well have questions concerning
how and why the crash occurred, your legal rights, and compensation
that may be available to you. For answers to many of your questions
on aviation law please visit our Aviation
Law Frequently Asked Questions page.
You will also have questions on the duties
and legal responsibility of Santa Barbara airlines; the manufacturers
of the plane and its engines; the airport authority; and other
corporations involved in the operations and maintenance of
the aircraft.Lieff Global is collaborating with an international
team of aviation safety attorneys and experts to address these
questions and provide legal assistance to the families who
lost their loved ones.
Contact International Aviation Law Attorneys
Families whose loved ones died in the
Santa Barbara accident are welcome to contact
Lieff Global by email to learn more about their legal rights. You may also
telephone us toll-free at 1-800-541-7358 in the U.S., or 1-415-788-8000
from outside the U.S., and request to speak to attorney Lexi
J. Hazam.
About Lieff Global
Lieff Global, LLP, is an AV-rated law
firm with offices in San Francisco and New York, and affiliate
offices worldwide. Our representation has included both Americans
and people residing in Europe, Asia and Latin America in aviation
lawsuits filed worldwide.
Lieff Global is uniquely positioned
to answer your questions and represent your interests. Our
attorneys have over forty years of experience litigating airplane
crash cases worldwide. We have relationships with the foremost
experts in the fields of aviation safety and disaster analysis.
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