BECKLEY — A Maine couple is suing Cessna, alleging breach of contract, negligence, breach of warranties, fraud and strict liability.
Arrin and Erin Farrar of Plymouth, Maine, filed a complaint March 20 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia against The Cessna Aircraft Company, Textron Aviation, McFarlane Aviation and Andres Swepston, alleging they obtained profit through distribution of a substandard product.
According to the complaint, Arrin Farrar was severely injured in the March 26, 2016, crash of a Cessna 172 aircraft. The suit says he has suffered pre-impact fear, severe emotional distress, conscious pain and suffering, while his wife, Erin Farrar, has suffered the loss of services, aid and society of her husband, as a result of the defendants' negligence in refusing to address a known defect on the aircraft's seat's latching system.
The lawsuit states this defect has led to the deaths and injuries dozens of others pilots and passengers.
The plaintiffs allege the defendants failed to redesign the defective seat latching system and failed to warn Arrin Farrar regarding the danger of seat slippage.
The Farrars seek trial by jury, all damages, costs and interest. They are represented by Warren R. McGraw of McGraw Law Offices in Prosperity.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number 18-cv-461