Aviation Lawyer / Air Crash Litigation Attorney With 35 Years Legal Experience

This is Rick French, the AIRLAWYER's website.

UPDATE (after many years): I have stopped accepting litigated, or potentially litigated matters.

Rick has practiced law for over 35 years. His practice has emphasized air crash litigation of all sorts of aircrash, representing victims of air crash disasters since 1987, having represented airlines, aircraft manufactures and the Federal Aviation Administration before "shifting gears" to represent those injured as a consequence of air crashes.

HELD HOSTAGE BY FOUR DESPARATE AWOL AMERICAN ARMY SOLDIERS

This 50-year-old, long repressed memory was triggered a couple of weeks ago and has been bothering me. Perhaps writing about it will help settle down the distressing memory.* I have a habit of repressing disturbing memories. This is one of my most disturbing memories.

I boarded a train in Munich in the fall of 1969 as a 17-year-old recent High School graduate, and entered an empty 6-person cabin. Shortly thereafter, four clean-cut American Army men entered my cabin. The conductor took our tickets, then left the five of us alone in the cabin. I do not recall my intended destination, nor do I recall where I got off of the train, because this happened more than half a century ago.

We asked one another our life stories, and I was asked to tell my story first. I had just graduated from High School at age 17, deferred for one year my start of college at the University of Southern California (USC), and took a gap year, traveling and working in Europe. I worked when I had to, and I traveled when I had a little bit of money to travel. My primary transportation was hitchhiking, but this day I had decided to take a train. The Vietnam war was raging, and since I was 17, it was another year until I was draft age of 18 years old, so I could take a gap year without worrying about being drafted and sent to wage an unjust war in Vietnam. I made it clear that I was completely against the foolish war that America prosecuted in Southeast Asia. I was carrying all of my worldly possessions: a US passport, a knapsack with a few clothes in it, $200 USD in American Express travelers checks, a few maps and books, and fewer than $20 USD in the local currency, Deutsch Marks.

These 18 and 19-year-old US Army soldiers, only a year or two older than me, then told me their story. They all had been drafted into the Army, then sent to basic training. From there, they were all assigned to a base in Germany. The morning that I met these soldiers, they had received their orders to go fight the immoral, useless and much-despised war in Vietnam. They decided to go AWOL instead of going to Vietnam. But for the grace of God, there I went. I could have easily been drafted and ordered to go to Vietnam. I might have chosen to go AWOL, had I been ordered to Vietnam.

They deserted their base that morning, with only the uniforms on their backs and whatever they had in their pockets. One man had a folding straight razor in his pocket. They had no passports (only US Army ID cards), no money (only a little bit of their last pay was left in each of their wallets), no civilian clothes, no clean clothes, no toiletries, no luggage, and no specific plans for what to do after going AWOL together. These men were desperate, scared and confused. They did not want to go to Vietnam and have to kill people, or get killed or wounded themselves. They were trying to figure out what they needed to do, how to do it, and how to obtain the necessary resources to get to a friendly country with no extradition for deserting from the US Army, a country like Sweden. I told them that there was no extradition from Sweden at that time for American military deserters, and suggested Sweden as their destination. They liked my plan.

The young man with the straight razor put his left arm around me and around my left arm, holding me from tightly behind and controlling my movements. With his right hand, he held his straight razor on my throat. He repeatedly threatened to murder me by slashing my throat. He rubbed the razor sharp blade on my throat gently, while threatening to kill and rob me, never drawing blood, but keeping me completely terrified.

The point of murdering me would have been to take my money, passport and civilian clothes and hope that would be enough resources to make it to Sweden without getting arrested. I did my best to persuade them that they could have everything that I owned, without harming me. I made it clear that I sympathized with them, and would certainly never notify the authorities about my being kidnapped or held hostage, or the murder threats, or the robbery threats. I wanted these deserters to get away cleanly to Sweden, where they could start new lives without the fear of being sent to war, or the fear of prosecution for desertion. I empathized with my attackers. I made my empathy and support for these deserters clear.

I was held hostage and threatened with murder for about four hours. Nobody came along to help me. The conductors paid no attention to my cabin, since they had already collected our train tickets. We did not cross any borders, so no Customs Agents boarded the train to check passports. No food or beverages were served in the cabin. Nobody else entered our cabin. I was completely alone with these four desperate young men. I knew that whatever I said, and how these AWOL soldiers reacted, would determine whether I was to die that morning, or not.

While being held hostage with a straight razor on my throat, hoping that they would not slit my throat, the soldiers discussed among themselves and with me what they should do. I was saying everything that I could think of to try to save my life. I offered them all of my assets, everything that I owned, if only they did not murder me.

The men searched my person and my knapsack. They demanded money. I offered them my money. I showed them my wallet, they took it, they inspected everything in the wallet, then gave it back to me. They looked through all of my pockets, and turned the pockets inside out to ensure I was not hiding something from them. They were sorely disappointed that I had less than $20 USD in the local German currency. They did not know how traveler's checks worked, so I explained them to the deserters. I offered to change the checks to cash in any currency they liked at the next train station, so that I could give them my money and they could use my money to effectuate their escape.

I offered to trade clothes with them. I would give them my civilian clothes, the clothes I was wearing and the spare clothes in my knapsack. They could give me one of their uniforms to wear. We were all close in size and physique: young and fit. They could blend in with the civilians, wearing my civilian clothes. I would deal with whatever legal nonsense I had to deal with when I got caught in a US Army uniform sometime later. I would give them my passport, and perhaps one of them could pass himself off as me at the border crossings. I offered all of my possessions to them, to help them in their quest to get somewhere safe, somewhere where they would not be forced to fight a war. My few possessions would not do me much good if they killed me, so I might as well offer to give them my possessions in exchange for letting me keep my life. I was really scared.

Sometimes, I was held with the straight razor on my throat, my body held from moving by a strong Army guy, with his arms around me in a malicious manner. Sometimes, we simply sat, with the guy with the straight razor brandishing the razor. The soldiers debated the purpose of murdering me, of robbing me, of taking my clothes and money and passport. They decided, or I persuaded them, that they had nothing to gain by killing me, as I was happy to simply give them my stuff instead of getting murdered.

After about four hours of this terror, the conductor announced our arrival at a train station. It was not the station where I had originally intended to get off. I did not care where I was when I got off the train; I just wanted away from the four desperate AWOL soldiers and their death threats. I told them that was my station. I promised to not notify the authorities, and made it clear that I wanted them to escape safely. They believed me. Nobody objected, so I took my few meager possessions, and got off of the train. My ordeal was finally over. They ended up not physically hurting me, and not taking any of my possessions.

I never reported these four desperate young men to any authorities. I cannot identify them. I never knew their names. Fifty years, and more, has passed since this incident. I hope they got away OK. I hope those men have lead long, productive, happy lives. I hope they did not terrorize anybody else, as they terrorized me. I hope nobody else ever terrorizes me like those four young, desperate, scared AWOL US Soldiers terrorized me.

* I may have made some mistakes in this writing, as I am writing this 50+ years after the incident at issue, and I do not have a phenomenal memory. This is a true story.

C:\wp51\MISC\ HELD HOSTAGE

Welcome to AIRLAWYER.COM, the official Web site of THE FRENCH FIRM Co., L.P.A.

The AIRLAWYER is:

RICHARD H. FRENCH, JR.

THE FRENCH FIRM Co., L.P.A.

101 Seminary Street

Berea, Ohio 44017

Phone (440) 826-1616

Fax (440) 826-1617

e-mail: RICK@AIRLAWYER.COM

Attorney French is a pilot and an attorney licensed to practice law in Ohio, California, New York and Washington, D.C., and licensed to practice law before the United States Supreme Court, various United States Courts of Appeals and various United States District Courts. He is a Federal Aviation Administration-licensed Commercial Pilot, with an Instrument Rating and over 1800 hours of flight time logged. Attorney French earned his first pilot's license in 1974.

The AIRLAWYER's Resume follows:

RICHARD H. FRENCH, JR.

THE FRENCH FIRM CO., L.P.A.

101 Seminary Street

Berea, Ohio 44017

Phone (440) 826-1616

Fax (440) 826-1617

E-mail: RICK@AIRLAWYER.COM

LEGAL EXPERIENCE:

1999 - Internationally Judicially Proclaimed Expert in United States Aviation Law.

1992 – Judicially Declared Expert In Major Tort Disaster Litigation.

1985 – Present:

THE FRENCH FIRM CO., L.P.A. (Formerly French & Associates Co., L.P.A.)

Berea, OhioLitigation Attorney - Civil litigation, emphasizing representation of plaintiffs. Full conduct of all phases of investigation, pretrial, discovery, negotiation, settlement, and trial in all courts. 1983 - 1985

GALLAGHER, SHARP, FULTON & NORMAN, Cleveland, Ohio: Litigation Attorney - Civil litigation, emphasizing defense of aviation-related matters. Full participation in all phases of pretrial, discovery, negotiation, settlement, and trial in state and federal courts. 1980 - 1983

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, Washington, D.C. Trial Attorney - Air crash and administrative claims, participate in pretrial and discovery, conduct federal court and administrative trials. Draft Federal Aviation Regulations and federal Orders. 1979 - 1980

PRIVATE LEGAL PRACTICE, Los Angeles, California: Aviation and general practice, sole practitioner. 1979

SANTA MONICA AIRPORT ASSOCIATION, Marina del Rey, CA: Law Clerk - Prepare evidence and briefs in major aviation, constitutional law, and noise litigation. 1977 - 1978

TUCKER & CODDINGTON, Los Angeles, California: Law Clerk - Prepare pleadings and memoranda of law; analyze depositions in air crash litigation. 1976 - 1977

LOS ANGELES CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, Los Angeles, CA: Legal Intern - Law Clerk to city attorney in aviation litigation for Los Angeles airports.

Bar Memberships: California; Ohio; Washington, D.C.; and New York

EDUCATION

SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW

Los Angeles, CA., Juris Doctor, 1978

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Los Angeles, CA., Bachelor of Arts, 1974

PUBLICATION

CASES & MATERIALS ON AVIATION LAW

Sherman & French, 1978

Aviation law casebook.

PILOT EXPERIENCE

FAA-licensed Commercial pilot, instrument rated; Over 1800 hours of pilot flight time. Owned and operated Mooney M20E high performance single-engine 4-seat aircraft) and Cessna 150 (two-seat, single-engine) aircraft for many years.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATION

Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA)

Legal Services Plan, Attorney Service Provider

Air crash litigation, the emphasis of Attorney French's law practice since 1980, is normally conducted by highly-trained, aviation litigators who commonly are also aeronautical engineers or pilots, such as Attorney French.

Attorney French has handled aviation law matters or aircraft crash litigation in federal and state courts around the United states, Canada and Europe while representing the United States Government, American and European aircraft, engine, avionics and component manufacturing and service organizations, pilots, passengers, ground victims, widows, orphans, and executors of innocent people killed or injured in air crash disasters.

When an air crash disaster strikes, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and/or the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) aircraft accident investigators go to the site of the accident and conduct an accident site and wreckage examination, commonly assisted by representatives of the aircraft manufacturer, engine manufacturer, subcomponent manufacturers or other technically oriented people whose employers may be target defendants by the victims of the tragedy. The FAA and NTSB do not investigate aircraft crashes for purposes of providing evidence in court for the victims of the crash. The victims' legal representatives perform that function, as well as suing the responsible party to obtain full, fair and adequate compensation for the innocent injured victims and the families of the victims killed in the crash. It is important for the victims to obtain their own attorney representative(s) who will work with technical representatives and investigators with the goal of assisting the victims of the crash. The government investigators have a goal of determining the "Probable Cause" of the crash for purposes of attempting to avoid future mishaps caused by the same thing. The victims' AIRLAWYER must prove to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty the cause of the crash, and that each injury sustained by the victim was proximately caused by the crash, and not by some other event or condition. It is a heavy burden of proof to sustain. The NTSB and FAA do not have a goal of proving the ACTUAL CAUSE of the crash, but merely the Probable Cause of the air crash disaster.

The victim is well advised to retain an attorney such as Attorney Richard H. French, Jr., the AIRLAWYER, a highly skilled, highly trained and experienced air crash litigation attorney who is capable and willing to represent the innocent victim of the tragedy against the people or companies that caused the preventable tragedy and who must compensate the victim(s) and their families under our system of aviation litigation laws in the United States of America.

Few attorneys consistently spend much of their time in aircraft accident wrongful death, personal injury and damages investigation, discovery and litigation, defense of FAA-licensed airman certificate holders (such as pilots and aircraft mechanics).

The AIRLAWYER, Richard H. French, Jr. has devoted a substantial portion of his time over his entire career to aircraft crash litigation. Attorney French also handles vehicular crash cases (automobile accidents, truck crashes, motorcycle accidents, etc.), fire claims and litigation and general litigation.

Attorney French has handled claims or litigation arising from at least 75 separate aircraft crash disasters involving commercial jet aircraft, business jet aircraft, single-engine aircraft, multi-engine piston and jet, turbine-powered large and small airplanes, helicopters, gyroplane, kit plane and homebuilt aircraft. Causes of aviation disasters handled by the AIRLAWYER, RICK FRENCH have included:

1. Midair collisions;

2. Icing, including ground and in-flight engine and airframe icing;

3. Aircraft-truck collision;

4. Engine failures

5. Fuel system failures;

6. Mechanical and electronic failures;

7. Pilot negligence;

8. Weather;

9. Air Traffic Controller negligence;

10. Defective or illegal maintenance;

11. Bogus parts, and many other causes.

Some of the types of aviation disasters the AIRLAWYER has handled include:

1. Commercial jet transport aircraft crashes;

2. Charter aircraft accidents;

3. Business jet crashes;

4. Single-engine aircraft accidents;

5. Multi-engine airplane crashes;

6. Helicopter crashes;

7. Gyroplane crash;

8. Kit built aircraft crash;

9. Skydiver disaster;

10. Floatplane or seaplane crash;

11. Trainer airplane crashes;

12. High Performance airplane crashes;

13. Airliner (transport aircraft) crashes;

Some of the types of aviation clients who the AIRLAWYER has represented include:

1. Passengers in airplane crashes;

2. Ground victims of aircraft accidents;

3. Pilots;

4. Mechanics;

5. Air Traffic Controllers;

6. Flight Service Station Specialists;

7. Widows, orphans, administrator and executors of the estates of victims killed in aircraft accidents, family members, wives and husbands of air crash victims;

8. American and European aircraft manufacturers;

9. Aircraft Jet engine manufacturer;

10. The United States government;

11. Aircraft maintenance facilities; and

12. Aircraft avionics (electronics) facilities;

Aircraft Accident Investigators work closely with AIRLAWYER French to determine the actual cause of the crash and to unravel the mysteries surrounding the reason(s) why the preventable tragedies occurred. The AIRLAWYER and private aircraft accident investigators such as those who work with AIRLAWYER French are responsible for helping and requiring aircraft manufacturers to build safer aircraft, pilots conducting safer flight operations, mechanics conducting more reliable maintenance and inspection procedures (a particularly important area where safety improvements are needed, considering the aging of the aircraft fleet and resulting higher aircraft maintenance requirements, along with many "Bogus Parts," components sold as aircraft parts, but which do not meet the FAA's strict requirements for aircraft parts because of poor quality, improper licensing or paperwork, improper quality of materials or workmanship, possible illegal recycling of unairworthy parts, etc.).

Lawsuits are filed in federal or state court (if a suitable settlement cannot be negotiated) against the people and companies responsible for causing the air crash tragedy by the AIRLAWYER, Rick French. The AIRLAWYER's goal is to obtain full and fair monetary compensation for the victims of air crash tragedies through the legal system. The AIRLAWYER believes that it is common that insurers and attorneys for the people and companies that caused the air crash disaster refuse to negotiate a settlement in good faith without the pressure, expense, time and inconvenience of major litigation. Defense attorneys, those who represent the people and companies who may have caused the aviation tragedy, are commonly paid by the hour for their legal services, offering a strong disincentive to defense counsel recommending an early settlement. Defense attorneys make more money if they bill out more hours. If a defendant settles early, the defense attorney cannot bill out as many hours as if a settlement is effectuated late in the life of the case. The defense attorney has no personal risk of losing a case until the trial. Thus, settlements immediately before, or during a trial are common.

Attorneys sometimes aggressively solicit the business of the victims of air crash disasters. Some of those attorneys are qualified to handle the air crash litigation; most are not. Many of the attorneys who are able to enter into a fee agreement (contract to provide legal services for the victim, commonly on a contingency fee basis - the attorney keeps a certain percentage of the money ultimately collected for the victims, and does not earn a legal fee if the attorney does not collect money for damages suffered by the victims) with air crash victims, their families or the executor of the Estate of the victim are not themselves experienced and skilled in air crash litigation. These non-aviation attorneys may then retain an experienced air crash attorney such as the AIRLAWYER, Rick French, and split the contingency fee with the aviation attorney. The AIRLAWYER and many of the AIRLAWYER's colleagues who handle air crash litigation accept cases with a "referring" non-aviation attorney.

Air crash victims can often arrange a more advantageous (to the victim) legal fee agreement directly with the experienced aircrash litigator who has knowledge of the special laws, science and physics of aircraft accident litigation and investigation, such as the AIRLAWYER, RICK FRENCH. This is because there is no need to pay a portion of the legal fee to the non-aviation "referring" attorney if the victim contracts directly with the aviation attorney. Just because an attorney can competently handle a divorce, an automobile accident, business, general or criminal litigation does not mean that the attorney is also qualified to handle an air crash claim and litigation.

DISCLAIMER:

This Web page is not intended to, and does not provide legal advice and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. This Web page is provided to offer a general overview of aircraft accident claims and litigation. Each crash is individual and unique, with many unique factual and legal issues, making the giving of aviation law advice specific to the reader of this Web page impossible.

Rick French

101 Seminary Street

Berea, OH 44017

rick@airlawyer.com