Jury Sides with Cirrus in $100 Million Cory Lidle Trial

Stephen Pope

Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 07:14 PM ET

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Key Takeaways:

A federal jury found Cirrus Design not responsible for the 2006 crash of an SR20 aircraft that killed New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle and flight instructor Tyler Stanger.
The widows of Lidle and Stanger had sued Cirrus for $100 million, alleging a flight control binding issue, which conflicted with the NTSB's conclusion of pilot error.
The jury's decision confirmed the NTSB's findings that the aircraft was not at fault, though the plaintiffs' lawyers plan to appeal the verdict.

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A New York federal jury on Tuesday found Cirrus Design does not bear any blame for the October 2006 crash of an SR20 that killed New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle, 34, and flight instructor Tyler Stanger, 26.

The pair crashed into a high-rise apartment building as they attempted to make a turn in the tight confines of Manhattan’s East River Corridor. The widows of Lidle and Stanger sued Cirrus for $100 million, saying a binding problem with the SR20’s flight controls prevented the men from making the turn. The theory ran counter to the NTSB’s accident findings that pilot error was to blame.