Supreme Court won’t hear woman’s appeal of airplane crash lawsuit time limit

Court won’t hear appeal on airplane crash

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court won’t hear an appeal from a woman who wants to sue the government because air traffic controllers told the pilot of a homemade airplane to continue flying in a thunderstorm before it fatally crashed.

The high court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from Susan Hertz, whose husband Roger Hertz, was one of three people who died in the May 31, 2004 crash in Michigan.

Mrs. Hertz said she found out on June 25 that year that the pilot asked for directions around adverse weather in their path but air traffic controllers sent the plane directly into a severe thunderstorm, where it crashed. She sued on June 6, 2006, but courts have thrown her lawsuit out.

The Federal Torts Claims Act says lawsuits against the government must be filed within two years of the time of the action for which the person is suing.

Mrs. Hertz said the time limit should have started from the point that she found out that air traffic controllers may have been negligent.

The case is Hertz v. United States, 09-26.