Passenger's family files suit against pilot's widow
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Posted 7:24AM on Thursday, May 30, 2002
SAVANNAH - The family of a Savannah builder killed in a plane crash has filed a lawsuit against the pilot's widow. <br>
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Four men in a single-engine Piper PA-32 died in a Feb. 6 crash shortly after takeoff from the Peachtree-DeKalb Airport. The group was returning from the state Homebuilders Association convention in Atlanta. <br>
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Killed were: pilot C.A. ``Tony'' Griffin, a homebuilder; passengers, Bobby Reed Jr., also a builder, and two Savannah Electric employees, Mark W. Neville and Rodney J. Hall. <br>
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Reed's parents, Bobby Sr. and Carolyn Reed, and his brother, Rock K. Reed, filed suit Tuesday in Chatham County State Court. The complaint was filed against Rhonda Griffin. <br>
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``C.A. Griffin breached that duty by failing to maintain control over the aircraft to prevent its crashing into the ground causing injuries and death,'' the lawsuit reads. <br>
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The complaint alleges Reed didn't contribute to the accident and that Griffin had the duty to take reasonable care in preventing the crash. <br>
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The plaintiffs seek an unspecified amount of damages for Reed's pain and suffering, as well as funeral and burial expenses. <br>
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Authorities have not determined the cause of the crash. According to reports, the Federal Aviation Administration had given warnings about icing conditions and moderate turbulence in Atlanta.