US judge reopens $6.5 million lawsuit blaming Reno air traffic controllers for fatal crash in 2016

Associated Press

RENO, Nev. (AP) — A judge has reopened a federal lawsuit accusing air traffic controllers of causing the 2016 fatal crash of a small airplane that veered into the wake of a jetliner’s turbulence before it went down near Reno-Tahoe International Airport. The families of the pilot and a passenger killed are seeking up to $6.5 million in damages from the Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. District Court Judge Miranda Du dismissed the case in 2022 after she concluded the 73-year-old pilot’s negligence was the sole cause of the crash. But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently overturned her ruling and ordered her to re-evaluate whether the air traffic controller shared any responsibility.