Victims’ families sue estate of pilot in Kerrville crash
The families of three of the Houston residents who died when the small plane they were traveling on crashed in Kerrville earlier this year have filed wrongful death lawsuits against the pilot’s estate.
The plane crashed in rocky terrain about 70 miles northwest of San Antonio on April 22 after taking off from Houston. The crash killed the pilot, philanthropist Jeffrey Carl Weiss, and all five passengers.
In separate suits, the families of Mark Scioneaux, 58, Marc Tellepsen, 45, and Scott Reagan Miller, 55, alleged that Weiss was negligent and failed to properly operate the twin-engine plane before the crash roughly 6 miles from its destination, Kerrville Municipal Airport.
The two other passengers were Stuart Roben Kensinger, 55, and his wife, Angela Webb Kensinger, 54.
The three cases were filed in Harris County Probate Court this week. While they were filed separately, attorneys said it’s likely the cases will be consolidated for at least the discovery phase.
Ladd Sanger, a Dallasbased aviation attorney representing Ann Christensen, Miller’s widow, said the way the plane crashed indicates there might have been fuel issues.
Weiss’ Beechcraft Baron 58 crashed in what’s called a “flat spin,” Sanger said, in which the plane is horizontal and not pointing downward. That is an indication there might have been some sort of power interruption on at least one engine, according to Sanger.
That sentiment was echoed by Richard Mithoff, the lawyer representing Scioneaux’s husband, along with Tellepsen’s widow, Jennifer, and parents, Kathleen and Tom.
“All the indications at the present time point toward onboard fuel issues, and we are looking at all potentially responsible parties, as well as any possible component part failures,” Mithoff said.
Gus Tamborello, the court-appointed administrator of Weiss’ estate, declined to comment on the lawsuits Thursday.
“It’s a horrible tragedy all the way around,” Tamborello said.
Weiss, 65, had logged more than 5,000 flight hours and had four decades of flying experience.
The plane took off from West Houston Airport around 7:30 a.m., and flight data showed it suddenly dropped altitude and speed around 9 a.m. Data from FlightAware, which tracks takeoffs and landings, showed the plane’s speed dropped from 204 mph to 117 mph in less than a minute and continued to fall over the ensuing eight minutes before the crash.
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board said engine data would provide more insight, but it did not look like Weiss was trying to land the plane at the time of the crash.
NTSB has not yet issued its final report on the crash. Such reports are typically expected between 12 and 18 months after a crash.
Sanger said the suits would be limited until the findings from the investigation are available.