Synopsis[]
On July 4, 2021, attorney Morgan Felder joined pilot Reese Campbell for a flight over Basin Lake. After departing the Rapid River Valley Airfield, the aircraft deviated from its planned route and eventually crashed into the nearby Mount McIntosh. There were no survivors. Ari Felder—Morgan’s spouse—has brought a negligence suit against Koller Campbell Air LLC, the company that owned the aircraft.
Details[]
This case is the AMTA official 2022-2023 case.
On July 4th 2021, Reese Campbell flew Morgan Felder in his single-engine piston Horizon P-229 four-seat aircraft owned by his company Koller Campbell Air. Campbell co-owned by his business partner Casey Koller. On route over Basin Lake, the plane crashed into Mount Macintosh, killing both Felder and Campbell. The spouse of Morgan Felder, Ari Felder subsequently filed a negligence lawsuit against the flight company Koller Campbell Air. Casey Koller, the defendant, maintains that the crash was unforeseeable.
As the plantiff, Ari Felder talks about interactions with Reese Campbell and Casey Koller before the flight. In the past, Casey Koller had commented on Campbell's inexperience piloting as well as Campbell's reckless attitude. Prior to July 4th, Ari had spoken to a divorce attorney, who was also a friend, potentially hinting at relationship issues in their marriage. On July 4th, the felders texted during the flight. Morgan noted that Campbell wa flying especially low and that fireworks were being set off over Basin Lake. Morgan was only able to send a few more texts before the plane went down.
Reese Campbell was suspected of scudrunning during his flights, a dangerous pilot practice of flying under the clouds. Scudrunning is a sign of inexperience and can increase a pilot's chances of crashing. Aubrey Roy, Campbell's flight instructer can testify to Campbell's practice. Experts Drew Hubbard sand Jamie Savchenko can state that Campbell's decreasing altitude was incredibly dangerous. Wittness Shannon Shahid saw the plane while working on Basin Lake flying particularly low. Experts also note that the plane's path entered a "death spiral" which led to Campbell experiencing spatial disorientation and being unable to control his aircraft. These reckless actions by Campbell would suggest pilot error and negligence.
On the other hand, teams can take an affirmative defense that Campbell experienced a retinol stroke during flight. This medical emergency could suddenly blinded him and have made him unexpectedly crash. In his mayday call, Campbell states that they cannot see, but does not specify whether that is due to blindness, clouds, disorientation, or smoke. Campbell had been taking the drug Fullertin to treat his ear infection. Fullertin has since been recalled in Midlands due to its side effects. When taking Fullertin, there is risk of dizziness and a risk of a retinol stroke. You are also warned to avoid operating heavy machinery on the drug's bottle. Defense expert Moore speaks to the drug's side effects and the details surrounding a retinol stroke.
Additionally, teams can contend that catastrophic engine failure caused the plane to crash instead. The plane was fueled and sumped by a company owned by Cherry Rockets. Even though mechanic Mandy Navarra normally sumps the plane, the company sent new employee Danny Idelson on July 4th. Idelson can be accused of improperly sumping the plane, waiting the incorrect amount of time to ensure that the plane was fueled correctly. Ari Felder and Navarra can speak to their experiences with Idelson where they appeared clumsy and irresponsible. Idelson allegedly left various tools around the airfield and seemed stressed while sumping the engine. He was heard saying "what am I going to do," and then deciding that "it'll be fine." Idelson was also heard saying, "oh shoot I forgot," while at the airfield the day of the accident. Expert wittness Heisman can testify to the possibility of engine failure.
Witnesses[]
Plaintiff[]
- Ari Felder
- Drew Hubbard
- Jamie Savchenko
Defense[]
- Casey Koller
- Bellamy Air
- Kennedy Heisman
- R. Moore
Swing[]
- D.B. Gelfand
- Mandy Navarra
- Shannon Shahid
- Aubrey Roy (Plaintiff Priority)
Trivia[]
- In Casey Koller's deposition, when asked about where the headquarters for Koller-Campbell Air is, they respond by saying that they had originally wanted to build an office on the land where Chuggie's Bar burned down. This is a reference to the previous year's case, State of Midlands vs. Dakota Sutcliffe, which takes place at Chuggie's.
- One of the witnesses, D.B. Gelfand, is named after the chair of the civil case committee, Michael Gelfand.
- In the pretrial order, there are 3 potential affirmative defenses that the defense can pursue: That a rogue firework blinded Reese Campbell, causing him to crash the plane, that unforeseeable mechanical failure occurred, or that Campbell suffered a medical emergency that incapacitated him. Defense can also pursue an assumption of risk defense.
- This case relies heavily on expert witnesses, with 7 of the witnesses being pilots/mechanics, and 1 being a physician. Aside from the party representatives, there is only one character witness, Shannon Shahid, who also happens to be the only eyewitness to the July 4th crash.
- Both of the deceased, Reese Campbell and Morgan Felder, happen to be lawyers.
- Unlike many civil cases, this case is extremely jargon heavy, with aviation related terms such as "IFR", "VFR", "Scud Running", "Fuel Sumping", and "Foggles", all of which are extremely important to the case.
- This is one of the only cases to feature an audio exhibit, which narrates Reese Campbell's final moments before he crashed into the mountain. It could be played on a cell phone as long as the phone was on airplane mode.