Williams v. United States

711 F.2d 893 Carol WILLIAMS, individually and as the Executrix of the Estate of Richard Lake Williams, and as Parent and Natural Guardian of Stacy Lynn Williams, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. The UNITED STATES of America Federal Aviation Administration, Defendant- Appellee, and Ray Heady; Arbis D. Shipley; Aircraft Associates; and Trans-National Airlines, Defendants. No. 82-4123. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Jan. 12, 1983. Decided July 27, 1983. Warren A. Schneider, Dept. of Justice, San Francisco, Cal., for defendant-appellee. Mark Smith, Lubbock, Tex., for plaintiffs-appellants. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii. Before TANG and ALARCON, Circuit Judges, and KENYON * , District Judge. TANG, Circuit Judge: 1 Richard Williams was the co-pilot of a DC-3 which was lost and presumed crashed on July 20, 1979, while on a flight from California to Hawaii. Neither the plane nor the crew were ever recovered. 2 Williams' wife filed a claim with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) on June 2, 1980. She alleged that the Honolulu FAA failed to notify the Coast Guard that the…