Family Sues After Student Pilot Killed in Kentucky Crash

The wrongful death suit claims the cross-country night flight during a thunderstorm was unnecessary and avoidable.

Thursday, September 19, 2024 at 05:31 PM ET

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According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) preliminary accident report, the aircraft flew through "heavy to extreme precipitation." [Courtesy: NTSB]

Key Takeaways:

The parents of flight student Connor Quisenberry have filed a lawsuit against Eagle Flight Academy and ATP Flight Center, alleging negligence and that his fatal night flight with instructor Timothy McKellar Jr. was "unnecessary" and "avoidable."
Both Quisenberry and McKellar died when their plane crashed in a thunderstorm; McKellar had posted derogatory comments about Quisenberry on Snapchat during the flight.
The lawsuit claims McKellar was previously discharged from ATP due to unsatisfactory performance as a CFI, and alleges both academies knew of his deficiencies but failed to address them.

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The parents of Connor Quisenberry, the flight student killed last September in an airplane crash in Kentucky, have filed a lawsuit alleging the flight was “unnecessary,” and that the crash was “avoidable” and the result of negligence on the part of his flight instructor.

Both Quisenberry and flight instructor Timothy McKellar Jr., 22, were killed when their Piper PA-28-161 was ripped apart in a thunderstorm during a night flight.

Meg Godlewski

Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.