SkyWest Airlines has paid an undisclosed amount to the family of a Salt Lake pilot killed two years ago when the plane he was flying in collided with a SkyWest Metroliner over Kearns.
The widow and six children of the pilot, Paul P. Lietz, have dropped their suit against SkyWest in the wake of the settlement. But the family is "vigorously" pursuing a second lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration, said Edward Havas, attorney for the Lietz family."The amount of the settlement was very nominal in SkyWest's judgment," said Wayne Wadsworth, attorney for the airline. "It was paid solely to avoid the cost of litigation. It was not paid on the basis of any evidence that indicated wrongdoing by the SkyWest crew."
Havas said he couldn't disclose the terms or amount of the SkyWest settlement. The cash settlement was considered "mutually beneficial" by both SkyWest and the Lietz family, he said.
Lietz was one of 10 people killed when the single-engine Mooney M-20C he was flying in collided with SkyWest Flight 1834 shortly before 1 p.m. Jan. 15, 1987. The Mooney had finished a series of touch-and-go landings at Airport No. 2 and SkyWest Flight 1834 was descending for a landing on runway 3-4 Left at the Salt Lake International Airport when the collision occurred.
The Lietz's suit against the FAA is one of four suits filed by the families of pilots and crew killed in the crash. The family of SkyWest pilot Michael D. Gambill has filed a suit seeking $5 million for his wrongful death. The family of SkyWest first officer Walter F. Ray has also filed suit.
The widow and children of Chester Baker, a Sandy pilot flying in the Mooney with Lietz, have filed the fourth suit against the FAA.
The four lawsuits have been consolidated for the purpose of discovery, Havas said. Discovery is the exchange of information and documents by the FAA and the four families in preparation for the trials.
"At this point, the four cases have not been consolidated for trial. That may happen at some point, we just don't know," Havas said.
The Lietz suit says failure of the air traffic control system at the Salt Lake International Airport caused the collision. "There was information displayed on the radar screen that wasn't utilized," Havas said. "We contend that had it been properly utilized it would have averted the collision."
Suits against the federal government are governed by the Federal Tort Claims Act, Havas said. The act requires that the suits be tried by a judge, not a trial, and prohibits punitive damages.