Carol Wojciechowicz v. United States

There is no question that the pilot bears primary responsibility for the tragic accident at issue here. Nevertheless, that is only part of the story. This case raises important questions about the scope of an air traffic controller’s duty of care to a plane flown under visual flight rules *72(“VFR”) after radar contact initiated by the pilot is then lost. The majority accepts the district court’s finding that any possible breach of duty by the controller did not contribute to the crash. I do not agree. If a controller’s duty to separate aircraft from terrain continues after radar contact is…