Menlo law firm settles case on death of child aviator

By JENNIFER DESAI

After a year-long probate fight, a Menlo Park law firm has resolved claims arising from the deaths of Jessica Dubroff, the 7-year-old aviator, and her 57-year-old father, Lloyd, in a highly publicized accident two years ago.

The Sand Hill Road law firm of O'Reilly, Collins & Danko negotiated a settlement for the full amount of the pilot's $1 million insurance policy, and Judge Aram Serverian of San Mateo County Court has approved the deal, according to attorney Terry O'Reilly.

"There was a probate fight over Lloyd's estate, which complicated the proceedings somewhat, but the accident itself was quite straightforward," Mr. O'Reilly said.

Jessica was attempting to be the youngest person ever to fly across the country, from coast to coast. The girl, her father, and instructor pilot Joseph M. Reid died at Cheyenne, Wyoming, on April 11, 1996, shortly after lifting off for what was to have been the fourth leg of the flight.

The aircraft, a single-engine Cessna 177, departed from Half Moon Bay on April 9 and stopped in Elko, Nevada, and Rock Springs, Wyoming. The flight, which attracted massive media coverage, had been diverted to Cheyenne for radio and television interviews.

"There was some question as to whether the aircraft was overweight," Mr. O'Reilly said. "Apparently, the plane was loaded with cameras."

The departure from Cheyenne occurred in deteriorating weather, with storm conditions closing in. The takeoff was delayed for television coverage and took off into gusty winds. Rising only 100 feet from the runway, the plane then rolled over and crashed.

"Jessica was a very brave young lady and it is tragic that she was asked to fly in very difficult conditions in the eye of such enormous publicity," Mr. O'Reilly said. "The previous record flight, in 1995, was achieved by an 8-year-old after more than 50 hours of instruction, along a flexible route that diverted around weather and without media coverage."

The firm of O'Reilly, Collins & Danko has represented clients in major air disasters beginning with the Turkish Airline DC-10 near Paris in 1974, though the firm has represented people injured in almost every conceivable form of air transportation, including balloons, helicopters, and light aircraft, said Mr. O'Reilly.

"After World War II, builders of light aircraft sold the public a bill of goods, suggesting that flying an airplane was safer than driving," he said. "People think of the tremendous safety records of commercial airlines, and forget that light planes weigh less than the family car. They expect to be able to fly them safely in difficult weather conditions."



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