Buckwalter

This is an appeal by the estate and heirs of Dr. O. Dale Buckwalter (hereinafter the Buckwalters) from a judgment entered against the Buckwalter estate in favor of Airline Training Center and the estates of Ulrich Euler and Holger Behrens arising out of a 1977 midair collision of two private planes near Needles, California. Buck-waiter, Euler and Behrens all died in the accident. Both sets of parties filed complaints against each other for wrongful death alleging negligence of the respective pilots. The liability issue was tried separately from the question of damages. A jury returned a verdict finding that only Dr. Buckwalter was negligent in causing the crash. We have concluded that two errors in the trial of the liability issue mandate reversal and remand for a new trial.

Factual and Procedural Background

The midair collision which forms the basis of this action occurred at approximately 7:23 a.m. on March 15, 1977, near the uncontrolled airport at Needles, California. The aircraft involved were a Mooney M20F piloted by Dr. Buckwalter and a Beech 35-F33A flown by Ulrich Euler with observer pilot Holger Behrens also on board. Euler and Behrens were both German…