Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
One part of all this really bothers me. I've flown on and off the water for years and it's not like hopping on a jet ski and having some fun. It can be difficult at times and even downright dangerous. Even learning the flying part required reading the water and working hard at some new skills. Their marketing treats it like having an afternoon of fun with a speedboat, that there's nothing to it. They hint that you can even "dip a wing" and what a thrill that is. Then their chief pilot turns up the wrong canyon, can't climb quick enough and can't U-turn. He kills himself and his passenger. Turns out there's a bit more to this flying stuff than hopping on a jet ski.
I'm no attorney. But it sure would seem by the way they market that thing, it borders on dangerous false advertising. Luring wealthy people like Halladay with little flying skill, into a dangerous situation with the promise of exhilaration. Big bucks for big fun. I see a huge lawsuit rising out of these ashes. If it amounts to a big settlement or not remains to be seen. But you can bet attorneys are ringing his wife's phone off the hook, day and night. And the fact their company test pilot was killed flying in the exact same manner isn't going to help them.
Law suits took Cessna, Beech, and Piper out of the light aircraft business in the 80's and 90's. Many of the law suits involving those companies were baseless. None the less they were forced to pay out so much money they stopped production. The only reason they're back in business is because of huge price tags to pay for liability coverage. We'll see if and when this plays out in court. But if Icon takes a major financial hit on this accident, they could easily be gone. Or else be forced to price their product so high it will be unmarketable. Either way they'll be out of business. Lawyers have a nasty way of doing that to many products and companies we have learned to accept.