Lawsuit partially blames FAA for crash that killed Oxford doctor and wife

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WCBI) – The Federal Aviation Administration is being partially blamed for the death of an Oxford dentist and his wife.

The estate of Doctor Michael Perry and his wife Kimberly wants the FAA to pay almost $25 million for what it claimed was negligence when the plane they were passengers in lost power on a flight between Orlando, Florida and Oxford.

The suit said after the pilot declared an in flight emergency, air traffic controllers delivered delayed and faulty instructions.

The suit said pilot Jason Farese, who also died along with three others, was told he was 20 miles from the Tuscaloosa airport when in reality the airport was 29 miles away.

The suit says that 9-mile error was crucial since the plane crashed 1,650 feet from the Tuscaloosa runway.

The estate also said air traffic controllers failed to tell the plane about two other smaller airstrips closer than Tuscaloosa.