Family of three killed in plane crash files suit

The family of a Louisiana woman and her two children killed in a plane crash in Boulder County have filed a lawsuit against the aerial tour company and the owner of the plane.

Passengers Sandra Kirby, 48; Ian Kirby, 17; and Amanda Kirby, 13, were killed in the crash on July 17 along with pilot Steven Chase, 32.

Their plane crashed in a heavily timbered area in the 11000 block of Lefthand Canyon Drive on July 17 after taking off from Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield. Investigators said it appears the plane entered a descending left turn in the moments before it crashed, but the exact cause of the crash remains under investigation.

The National Transportation Safety Board said the plane, a 1972 dual- engine Cessna T337G, was owned by Bluebird Aviation and was registered to a VX Aviation LLC of Broomfield.

The Kirby family was visiting Colorado from Louisiana.

The family of the Kirbys filed a lawsuit in Boulder District Court on May 10 naming Bluebird Aviation and VX Aviation LLC.

The lawsuit alleges the defendants “failed to exercise reasonable care in operating the flight, maintaining the plane, inspecting the plane and otherwise negligently caused the crash to occur.”

“Defendants were negligent by failing to maintain the airplane, failing to train the pilot, failing to adequately supervise the pilot, failure to perform routine inspections on the airplane, failing to operate the airplane in a safe manner, failure to land the airplane in a safe manner,” the lawsuit read.