Lawsuit Filed Over Fatal Caravan Flight in Washington

Allegations of catastrophic wing failure are brought forth.

Meg Godlewski

Thursday, February 01, 2024 at 01:16 PM ET

Verified

The NTSB collected radar data of the aircraft maneuvering during flight (left) and its last turns. [Courtesy: NTSB]

Key Takeaways:

A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed by the widow of Nathan Precup, one of four men killed when a modified Cessna 208B EX Caravan lost its right wing during a test flight in November 2022.
The lawsuit names Textron Aviation, Raisbeck Engineering, and other aviation companies as defendants, responsible for the aircraft's design, manufacturing, and maintenance.
The purpose of the flight was to establish baseline performance data for Raisbeck Engineering's aerodynamic drag reduction system for the Cessna 208B EX, prior to any modifications being installed.
The accident occurred during the final flight of a multi-day series to test stall performance, with witnesses reporting the aircraft "fell apart" in midair.

See a mistake? Contact us.

“Wings should not come off in flight” are the words that begin the argument for a lawsuit filed by Danielle Martin, the widow of Nathan Precup, one of four men killed during the test flight of a modified Cessna 208B EX Caravan over Snohomish, Washington, north of Seattle, in November 2022.

The wrongful death suit was filed by law firms Stritmatter Kessler Koehler Moore and Wisner Baum on behalf of Precup. King County, Washington, names Textron Aviation Inc., Mistequay Group Ltd. (Aeromotion by Textron Aviation), Ace Aviation Inc., Raisbeck Engineering Inc., and “John Doe one through ten” as defendants. These are the businesses that designed, manufactured, and maintained the Cessna Caravan.