Why hire the attorney pilot, Steven Lamar Thompson, to seek compensation for death, bodily injury or causally related emotional distress suffered, and/or damage sustained to personal property (e.g., baggage and cargo) that occurred:

• during an international air carrier flight, or

• during a domestic air carrier flight.

It is extremely important to note that according to the FAA and the NTSB the largest percentage of aviation related accidents “airplane crashes” are caused by pilot error (with all due respect given to other pilots). Also, NASA research found that the primary cause of the majority of aviation accidents was human error (i.e., most likely the pilot), and that the main problems were failures of interpersonal communication (e.g., lack of Cockpit Resource Management, CRM)), leadership, and decision making in the cockpit. So, perhaps the best person to ask about what operational influences (risks associated with the competitive pressures affecting flight operations) did or did not happen in a cockpit that may have led to the probable cause or cause of an airplane crash is an attorney who is also a high-grade, airline pilot-flight engineer with specialized knowledge in the field of aviation, like me.

The end result of an investigation into what causes an airplane crash almost always reveals a series of incidents (chains of events), rather than one specific cause, all of which center around the pilot. So, the largest percentage of airplane crashes may turn on what conditions, events, actions, and omissions, the pilot did or did not do correctly or proficiently while operating the airplane immediately after declaring that an emergency existed, and certainly what the pilot “may have been thinking” in the cockpit during the emergency that may have led to pilot error.

Under 14 C.F.R. § 91.103, each pilot-in-command shall, before beginning a flight, become familiar with all available information concerning that flight. Under 14 C.F.R. § 91.3(a), the pilot-in-command of an aircraft is directly responsible for, and is the final authority as to, the operation of that aircraft, and (b) in an in-flight emergency requiring immediate action, the pilot in command may deviate from any rule of this part to the extent required to meet that emergency.

When a pilot makes a decision based on personal judgment that an in-flight emergency exists that requires immediate action, and makes a decision based on personal judgment to deviate from formal Standard Operating Procedures and Emergency Operating Procedures (i.e., formal action protocols), and the rules under 14 C.F.R., (FARs), to the extent required to meet that emergency, the part “what the pilot may have been thinking” in the cockpit during the critical time period to meet that emergency is no doubt the biggest mystery “operational influence” that when answered with a reasonable degree of certainty may be one of the most important game-changing keys to advance the analysis to determine factors that contributed to the probable cause or cause of an airplane crash.

Note that due to the infinite variety of possible emergency situations that may occur with the operation of an airplane, specific procedures cannot always be prescribed. So, when a specific procedure (e.g., emergency action checklist) does not exist for the type of emergency, a pilot must use their own personal decision-making judgment to determine what course of action to pursue which appears to be most appropriate under the circumstances and which most nearly conforms to his or her level of training.

In addition to a pilot having to make a personal decision on what course of action to pursue when no emergency checklist exists for that type of emergency, the decision may have to be executed extremely quickly. For example (note this is just an example), if a Boeing 787 Dreamliner is cruising at the speed of 567 mph (Mach 0.80+/-) when an emergency occurs, and a pilot is faced with this emergency where no formal procedure exists, at this speed, a pilot has very little time react to this type of emergency. Here, “what the pilot may have been thinking” during this critical decision-making period to deviate is extremely important to determine whether any pilot error factors likely contributed to the probable cause or cause of an airplane crash. Therefore, perhaps the best person to ask about what may have happened in a cockpit during an emergency may be an attorney who is also a high-grade, pilot-flight engineer with specialized knowledge in the field of aviation, like me.

Specially note that multiple opinions are better than just one, and in the aggregate may aid in the analysis to determine factors that likely contributed to the probable cause or cause of an airplane crash, or otherwise. So, the opinions of other high-grade, airline pilot-flight engineers would certainly be very helpful. Most importantly, opinions may come from an outside-the-box type thinker like me or another that may very well be the sixth-sense, stand-alone game changer.