![Firefighters from Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue stand by to extinguish any fire that erupts from a small airplane that crashed Tuesday, October 3, 2023, into a home in Newberg, Oregon. The plane never caught fire, but two people aboard the craft died and another was injured. [Credit: Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue]](https://www.flyingmag.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/DJF25YIIGVDOZO6RFK5KJ6JMEY.avif)
A Portland, Oregon-area family has filed a lawsuit against a flight school and an airline pilot training program for damages caused when an aircraft on a training flight crashed into their home.
The suit, which seeks $15 million in compensation, was filed by Washington state aviation attorney Mark Lindquist, best known for representing the families of the victims of the two Boeing 737 Max crashes and the passengers aboard an Alaska Airlines 737 Max that lost a door plug while flying from Portland to Ontario, California.
Lindquist, along with Chicago attorney Austin Bartlett and Oregon attorney Jacob Derman, represents the Ferris family, who lost their home when a Piper Seminole entered an unrecoverable spin and crashed into their house in Newberg, Oregon.
“Only in movies and nightmares do planes crash through the roof of your house,” Lindquist said. “But it actually happened to this family.”
The accident occurred on October 3, 2023. The Piper Seminole was being flown by a multi-engine student and an instructor from Hillsboro Aero Academy. The student and instructor were killed in the crash. Another student, described as a pilot-rated passenger, was observing from the back seat and survived with serious injuries.
According to a statement from Lindquist, at the time of impact, the parents were outside with two minor children, while two other children were inside the house. The father ran into the house to rescue the two children, who were stunned but not seriously physically injured. The family dog was also rescued.
At the time, the eldest child was 16, and the youngest was 6.
It was noted that the aircraft was leaking fuel, and many personal possessions of the family were destroyed.
The lawsuit names Hillsboro Aero Academy and Ascend Pilot Academy, which is a joint venture between Alaska Airlines and Horizon Airlines to train pilots for eventual employment.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigated the accident and released its final report last week. The report found the probable cause to be the trainee pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane and the flight instructor’s inadequate supervision of the flight, which resulted in a stall/spin from which they were unable to recover.
Details of the Accident
According to the NTSB, the pilot receiving instruction had recently obtained a commercial pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating, and the accident flight was his first in the multi-engine training program. Company officials stated it was common for the first multi-engine training flight to include slow flight, power-off stalls, power-on stalls, accelerated stalls, steep turns, and a VMC demonstration.
Both the instructor and student pilot had less than 200 hours of flight experience. The NTSB report indicates the instructor had 198 hours, and the student 197.
Chapter 13 of the Airplane Flying Handbook (AFH) warns pilots about the danger of entering a stall during the VMC demonstration. VMC is defined in 14 CFR part 23, section 23.2135(c) as the “calibrated airspeed at which, following the sudden critical loss of thrust, it is possible to maintain control of the airplane.” This speed is usually marked on the airspeed indicator with a red line.
VMC, which stands for “minimum controllable airspeed,” is performed by retarding the power on one engine—usually the left. The pilot then slowly pitches up. In order to maintain directional control, the pilot must apply rudder pressure. If the aircraft approaches stall speed or the aircraft begins to yaw and the pilot cannot maintain directional control due to a lack of rudder authority, the power on the operating engine is reduced, and the aircraft’s nose is lowered, and the maneuver ends with cleanup by restoring power to both engines.
VMC was previously defined in 14 CFR part 23, section 23.149, as the calibrated airspeed at which, when the critical engine is suddenly made inoperative, it is possible to maintain control of the airplane with that engine still inoperative and thereafter maintain straight flight at the same speed with an angle of bank of not more than 5 degrees. VMC only addresses directional control, which is maintained by the rudder during the demonstration.
On October 3, at approximately 6:30 p.m. PDT, the aircraft took off from Hillsboro Airport (KHIO). The pilot-rated passenger, who was seated in the right rear seat, reported that the pilot receiving instruction was at the controls and was performing a VMC maneuver when the loss of control occurred. The maneuver began at an altitude of 5,300 feet msl. According to the passenger, the stall warning horn activated, then the aircraft rolled to the left and became inverted.
The AFH reads that “flight instructors are warned to pay strict attention to airspeed and bank angle during VMC and be alert to any sign of an impending stall.” Often instructors limit rudder travel—a condition known as rudder block—by placing their foot beneath the right rudder to limit the movement. When the learner can no longer apply sufficient rudder to prevent yaw and maintain directional control, recovery from VMC is initiated.
Aerodynamics dictate that in order to spin, an aircraft must be stalled first. The AFH warns that “no multiengine airplane is approved for spins, and their spin recovery characteristics are generally very poor. It is therefore prudent to practice spin avoidance and maintain a high awareness of situations that can result in an inadvertent spin.”
Per the AFH, “at the stall, the presence or introduction of a yawing moment can initiate spin entry. In a multiengine airplane, the yawing moment may be generated by rudder input or asymmetrical thrust. It follows, then, that spin awareness be at its greatest during VMC demonstrations, stall practice, slow flight, or any condition of high asymmetrical thrust, particularly at low speed/high AOA (angle of attack).”
Twin-engine aircraft are not required to undergo spin testing. However, the AFH suggests recovery can be done by immediately bringing both throttles to idle, applying full rudder opposite the direction of rotation, and applying full forward elevator/stabilator pressure (with ailerons neutral). The controls should then be held in that position until the rotation has stopped, and then the pilot should raise the nose to get out of the dive. The book warns that significant altitude can be required for spin recovery.
The passenger stated that the student pilot verbalized the steps to return the airplane to level flight and recover from the spin and subsequently requested the flight instructor take over the flight controls.
Numerous witnesses reported seeing the airplane spiraling as it disappeared from view, and one captured video of the aircraft tumbling from the sky.
According to the lawsuit, the Ferris family’s home was damaged beyond repair, and the yard was damaged by both the impact and the removal of the wreckage. They have moved six times since the crash and have struggled due to the “financial and emotional strain from the destruction of their home.”
The family alleges negligence and trespass by the flight school, pilot academy, and other defendants, which caused financial and emotional damage. They are asking for $15 million, or $2.5 million for each family member.
The final NTSB report and a copy of the lawsuit can be found below:
