The parents of a woman who was killed in a Santa Monica Airport plane crash filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the heirs of the pilot of the aircraft, the aircraft’s manufacturer and three government entities.
The parents of Lauren Winkler, Gary and Carole Winkler, filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against the estate of Mark Benjamin, the cities of Santa Monica and Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, and maker of the crashed 525A Citation, Cessna Aircraft Co.
Others who died in the crash on Sept. 29, 2013 at about 6:20 p.m. were Benjamin, 63; his son Lucas, 28, who was Winkler’s boyfriend; and Kyla Dupont, 53.
The lawsuit accuses Benjamin of negligently landing the aircraft in a “dangerous, unsafe and reckless manner” that caused it to veer from the runway and hit a hangar. According to the suit, Benjamin was “physically, mentally, and emotionally unfit to operate” the plane.
According to the suit, the cities and county were all responsible for the dangerous condition of the runway, which had rocks and other materials present on the pavement. The suit also says that Benjamin had insufficient space for steering until regaining his control over the aircraft.
The suit also alleges that the hangar the plane ran into was built too close to the runway to be at a safe distance.
The National Transportation Safety Board released a report last year that claimed the tires were properly inflated and no debris was present on the runway when the plane ran into the hangar and burst into flames.