Skokie, IL – The mother of a boy who was seriously injured in a July plane crash that killed his grandfather, two sisters and a cousin has sued the estate of his grandfather, a Skokie businessman who was flying the plane.
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Sharon “Sima” Menora filed the suit in Cook County Tuesday on behalf of her son, Nathaniel Joseph “Yossi” Menora, 13, who suffered severe burns to his arms and legs when the plane his grandfather Moshe Menora was flying crashed while trying to take off from a Michigan airport to return to the Chicago area.
In addition to the executors of Moshe Menora’s estate, the boy’s mother also sued Tri-United Management and Tri-United Development. Both are real estate companies that Menora owned in Skokie and both are listed in the lawsuit as the owners of the Beech 58 twin-engine plane.
The suit asserts that Moshe Menora and the businesses were negligent in not properly maintaining the aircraft or ensure a safe takeoff. The suit seeks at least $50,000 in damages.
A separate wrongful death suit was also filed on behalf of Yossi Menora’s sisters Rachel Menora, 14, and Rebecca Menora, 16, who died in the crash, along with their 73-year-old grandfather and cousin Sara Klein, 17.
The cousins all lived in Israel and were visiting their grandfather, who’d taken them on the day trip to Mackinac Island.
A preliminary report by the National Transportation and Safety Board indicated that Moshe Menora twice failed to get the plane airborne before it crashed onto an interstate highway about 1,000 feet from the runway at Mackinac County Airport.
Kevin Durkin, an attorney at Clifford Law Offices in Chicago, which filed the civil suits, said cases of family members suing each other aren’t uncommon.
“It’s not unusual. This is how people get compensated for injuries,” Durkin said. “The only way for Sharon Menora to protect her and her children is to file this lawsuit. It is what any parent would do. Especially with the severe injuries and the loss they had. It’s a civil action for money damages.”
Sharon Menora is the former wife of Shalom Menora, who is the father of Yossi, Rebecca and Rachel Menora and the son of Moshe Menora.
A representative at Tri-United declined comment
If the plane did not get airborne after two attempts, it should never have been taken for a third try. Perhaps, the plane was overloaded. Private planes are very unforgiving in a crash; unlike a large commerical airliner, the chances of surviving a smaller plane crash, are much lower.
To #2 -Yankle- Look at the statistics released by the National Transportation Safety Board (they have a website), and you will see hundreds of fatal private plane crashes listed, since 1962. The vast majority of those crashes have been caused by pilot error (i.e. fuel starvation, proceeding to fly in bad weather, misjudging an approach for a landing, not being instrument rated, the plane being overweight, etc.). Smaller private planes, structurally speaking, have very few of the protections that larger commercial airliners have
Some of the best, most experienced pilots in the world, have made pilot errors, which have been costly. There is an old saying, once, twice, three strikes you’re out; common sense dictates that if an aircraft does not develop enough thrust to become airborne after two tries, you don’t risk the lives of young children on a third try. Something was definitely mechanically wrong with that aircraft; in the months ahead, the NTSB will be dissecting the entire aircraft, and will analyze every component. When the NTSB’s final report is issued, it will undoubtedly find mechanical problems as well as pilot error, contributed to that tragic, fatal accident.
the accident happened in the 9 days. we are supposed to be more careful then. that makes it so sad, why were they flying in a small plane that week??
It could be that the only way the insurance company will pay out properly is if they are sued. The pilot was clearly at fault if he needed three chances to get the plane into the air and did not stop after the first two.