The Call That Will Come in the Next 24 Hours — and Why You Should Not Take It Alone
If you are reading this, someone you love boarded a private jet in San José del Cabo on the evening of June 16, 2026, and never made it home. A Cessna Citation Latitude, registration N523QS, operated by NetJets, crashed onto the Bob Bullock Loop — State Highway Loop 20 — in Laredo at approximately 10:00 PM, killing one person on board and sending five others to area hospitals. NTSB and FBI are on scene. The highway is shut down. The fuel is still on the road.
We are sorry. Not as a slogan — as the first thing a trial lawyer with 27 years in courtrooms says to a family in the worst week of their life.
Here is what you need to do in the next 48 hours, and why it matters more than almost anything else that will happen in this case: do not give a recorded statement to anyone from NetJets, Berkshire Hathaway, or any insurance company without counsel present. Do not sign any release, any ‘expedited’ settlement form, any sympathy payment acknowledgement, any broad medical or toxicology authorization. Preserve every text, every email, every voicemail they send. Preserve your loved one’s phone, tablet, and laptop exactly as they are — do not unlock, do not reset, do not charge and play. A NetJets claims representative will likely call within the next 24 to 48 hours, and the call will sound compassionate, organized, and helpful. It is none of those things. It is the first play in a playbook that runs on speed, not on your grief being over.
The people calling you are good at their jobs. Lupe Peña, one of our trial attorneys, spent years inside a national insurance defense firm, in the rooms where these calls are scripted and these releases are drafted. We know the playbook because one of us lived it. Now we run it in reverse, and we start by telling you the truth about what you are about to face.
What We Know About the June 16, 2026 Laredo Crash
Here are the confirmed facts as of the earliest reporting. The aircraft is a Cessna Citation Latitude, registration N523QS, operated by NetJets — a fractional-ownership program that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway and the largest operator of business jets in the world. The aircraft departed San José del Cabo International Airport (SJD) in Mexico on the evening of Tuesday, June 16, 2026, bound for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS). For reasons still under investigation, the flight diverted to Laredo International Airport (LRD) — a common diversion field for trans-border Mexico-to-Texas flights when weather, mechanical, or operational issues arise.
According to FlightRadar24 tracking data, the flight’s track terminates over the Bob Bullock Loop, the outer-loop freeway encircling Laredo’s south side at the intersection with Interstate 35, US-59, and State Highway 359. The Laredo Police Department received the call at approximately 10:00 PM local time. The aircraft impacted the roadway, scattering wreckage and releasing jet fuel across the highway surface. Six people were on board. One was fatally injured. The other five were transported to area hospitals.
Laredo Police Investigator Joe Baeza told reporters that part of the aircraft remained on the road early Wednesday morning and that jet fuel on the pavement would require extended cleanup. “Loop 20 will be closed both north- and southbound at this intersection for a very long time,” Baeza said. The FBI responded to the scene alongside Laredo police. The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed it was aware of the crash and gathering information, and an NTSB go-team deploys from its regional office in Arlington, Texas. Laredo Mayor Victor Treviño issued a public condolence statement, saying, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones affected by the recent private jet crash.” NetJets, in a brief statement, said it was “aware of an event involving a NetJets aircraft in Laredo, Texas, and are working with authorities.”
That is what is public. What is not public — and what the next 30 to 60 days will determine — is everything that actually caused the crash: the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) transcript, the flight data recorder (FDR) parameters, the pilots’ 72-hour histories, the fuel load, the dispatch release, the weather packet the crew received, and the air traffic control communications during the diversion. Those records exist. They are either with the NTSB now, with NetJets, or with Textron Aviation (the manufacturer of the Citation Latitude). They do not stay where they are. Federal law allows them to be destroyed on a clock we will describe in the evidence section below.
The Aircraft and the Operator — Why NetJets Is a Different Kind of Defendant
NetJets is not a small charter company. It is the largest operator of business jets in the world, with a fleet of more than 750 aircraft operating across fractional-ownership, lease, and managed programs. Its parent is Berkshire Hathaway, which carries a single-letter stock ticker (BRK) and unlimited patience for litigation costs. NetJets operates under a unique regulatory regime — FAA Part 91 Subpart K (Fractional Ownership Program Operations) — that places it between a private operator and a scheduled airline. This distinction matters enormously for your case, and we will explain why in a moment.
NetJets’ typical client is a high-net-worth individual, an executive, a professional, or a business that owns a share of a specific aircraft and pays for the hours it flies. The people on board N523QS were not random passengers. They were almost certainly people with substantial estates, substantial earning capacity, and substantial families. That profile drives the damages calculation in ways we will walk through below.
NetJets has been here before. In 2021, a Cessna Citation Longitude operated by NetJets crashed in Akron, Ohio, killing both pilots and a passenger. In 2016, a Challenger 604 operated by NetJets crashed shortly after takeoff from Miami’s Opa-locka Executive Airport. Each prior accident generated NTSB investigation, civil litigation, and discovery of the company’s Safety Management System (SMS) records, flight-following protocols, crew-training standards, and dispatch practices. Those records are not just relevant to past crashes — they are relevant to yours, because the NTSB’s probable-cause analysis in this case will look at the same systemic questions it looked at in those cases.
When NetJets is sued, it does not show up the way a regional airline shows up. It shows up with a $100-million-or-greater per-occurrence aviation liability tower, and it retains nationally recognized aviation defense firms — names like Condon & Forsyth, Clyde & Co, and Wilson Elser. These firms have been trying aviation cases against plaintiffs’ lawyers for decades. They will have a seat at the NTSB investigation table from day one of the inquiry. You need a lawyer who understands that the other side has been preparing for this moment for years, and who can match their preparation in the next five days.
Why FAA Part 91 Subpart K Matters — and Why the Montreal Convention Does Not Apply
If you have read about airline crash cases, you have probably seen references to the Montreal Convention, an international treaty that governs liability on commercial airline flights. The Montreal Convention does not apply to this crash. NetJets operates under FAA Part 91 Subpart K — the regulatory regime Congress created in 2002 to govern fractional-ownership operations. Subpart K occupies a middle ground: more structured than pure private Part 91 operation (it imposes certain crew-training, maintenance, and operational requirements on the fractional program manager), but less structured than Part 121 scheduled commercial service.
The practical effect of Part 91 Subpart K is that your family’s claims are governed by Texas common law and the Texas Wrongful Death and Survival Acts — not by an international treaty with its own strict liability limits and its own deadlines. This is good for your family. Texas law is favorable to plaintiffs in several respects, and we will walk through each of them.
What Part 91 Subpart K does give us, however, is a federal regulatory framework the crew and operator were required to follow. Under 14 CFR Part 91, NetJets and its pilots had specific obligations regarding fuel reserves (14 CFR § 91.151), flight plan and ATC compliance, aircraft airworthiness, and crew duty-time limitations. Under Subpart K, additional program-specific requirements applied to crew qualification, training, and flight-following. If the crew or the company violated any of these federal regulations, the violation is admissible in a Texas civil case as negligence per se — meaning the jury is told that breaking the federal rule is, by law, a failure to exercise ordinary care. We will be looking hard at whether the diversion decision, the fuel planning, the crew’s recent duty hours, the aircraft’s maintenance status, and the company’s dispatch protocols met the federal standard. NTSB will be looking at the same things, and its probable-cause report — typically issued 12 to 18 months after a major crash — will be admissible at trial as relevant evidence.
Who Is Liable? The Full Defendant Map After a NetJets Crash
When a commercial airliner goes down, the defendants are usually a small list: the airline, the manufacturer, maybe a component maker. When a fractional jet goes down, the defendant map is more complex, and the fight over who is on it begins immediately.
NetJets, Inc. sits at the top of the map as the fractional program operator. Under FAA Part 91 Subpart K, NetJets is responsible for crew qualification and training, flight-following, dispatch decisions, aircraft airworthiness, and fuel planning. Under common law, NetJets is also vicariously liable for the negligence of its employed pilots within the scope of their employment. NetJets will argue, in some cases, that the pilots are ‘independent contractors’ — but in the Part 91 Subpart K fractional model, the pilots are almost always NetJets employees subject to the company’s training, scheduling, and operational control, and the company cannot distance itself from their on-the-job decisions.
The Pilots-in-Command are individually named defendants for their direct negligence: the decision to divert, the failure to execute a safe approach at LRD, fuel mismanagement, weather-related decision-making, and crew resource management failures. The pilots’ logbooks, training records, recent proficiency checks, 72-hour personal histories (looking for fatigue, illness, distraction), and toxicology results will be central exhibits. Pilot names are typically identified within days of the crash through the NTSB’s preliminary reporting.
Textron Aviation Inc. is the manufacturer of the Cessna Citation Latitude and is a products-liability defendant if the investigation reveals a design or manufacturing defect — in the fuel system, engines (Pratt & Whitney PW306D1 turbofans), flight controls, avionics, or autopilot. The General Aviation Revitalization Act (GARA) imposes an 18-year statute of repose on product-liability claims against general aviation manufacturers. The Citation Latitude first flew in 2014, so GARA is not yet a defense. If a defect caused or contributed to the crash, Textron is in the case with its own deep insurance tower and its own defense team.
Component manufacturers — Garmin, Collins Aerospace, Rockwell, Honeywell, Pratt & Whitney, and others — are potential defendants if a specific component failed. The investigation will tell us whether to add any of them.
City of Laredo and Texas Department of Transportation are potential third-party defendants, not for the crash itself but for any claims brought by civilian motorists who may have struck debris or jet fuel on Loop 20, or for any roadway-design or debris-removal claim. Claims against a Texas governmental entity come with a brutally short clock: the Texas Tort Claims Act requires written notice within six months of the incident (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 101.101), and suit must be filed within two years. We will be analyzing whether any third-party roadway claims exist, and if so, making sure the notice goes out on time.
Mexican service providers at SJD — the fueling company, ground handlers, de-icing contractor — are potential defendants if contaminated fuel, improper defueling, or inadequate servicing contributed. Pursuing Mexican defendants raises choice-of-law and service-of-process issues we are prepared to handle, but the evidence at SJD is fragile and must be preserved through international legal assistance procedures immediately.
Texas Wrongful Death and Survival Law — What the Family Can Recover
Texas recognizes two distinct claims when a person dies as a result of someone else’s negligence, and the family can — and should — bring both.
The Wrongful Death Claim is brought by the decedent’s surviving spouse, children, and parents for the damages they have personally suffered by losing their loved one. It is created by Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 71.001 through 71.003. The damages recoverable in a Texas wrongful death case include: (1) the pecuniary loss the beneficiaries have sustained — meaning the financial support, services, gifts, and benefits they would have received had the decedent lived; (2) loss of companionship and society — the relationship, affection, guidance, and counsel the family has lost; (3) mental anguish — the emotional suffering caused by the death; (4) loss of inheritance — what the decedent would have accumulated and left to the family; and (5) since 2023, in cases where the defendant engaged in certain types of misconduct, emotional pain and suffering damages. Importantly, Texas law does not impose a cap on wrongful death or survival damages in aviation cases — different from the caps that apply in medical malpractice or other contexts. The size of the verdict is governed by the evidence, not by a statutory ceiling.
The Survival Action is brought by the decedent’s estate for the damages the decedent personally suffered from the moment of impact to the moment of death — pre-death medical expenses, pre-death pain and suffering, and pre-death lost earnings. The survival claim belongs to the estate and is administered by the personal representative (executor or administrator) of the estate. It is a separate claim from the wrongful death claim, and the two can (and should) be pursued together.
What this means in dollars depends heavily on the profile of the person who died. NetJets’ clients are typically high-net-worth individuals — executives, professionals, business owners, investors, inheritors of family wealth. A 45-year-old executive with a $2 million annual income, a spouse, and two children has a present-value lost-earnings calculation that can easily exceed $20 million before considering fringe benefits, bonuses, equity, lost household services, and the non-economic categories. A 65-year-old retiree has a different calculation. A 30-year-old rising professional has another. The investigation into the decedent’s actual earnings, benefits, household contributions, and life expectancy is one of the first things we begin after the family hires us.
Texas Modified Comparative Negligence — The 51% Bar
Texas adopted a modified comparative negligence rule in 1987, codified at Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001. The rule is straightforward: if the decedent was 50 percent or less at fault for the accident, the family can still recover, with the recovery reduced by the decedent’s percentage of fault. If the decedent was 51 percent or more at fault, recovery is barred entirely.
What does that mean for a passenger on a private jet? A passenger in a Cessna Citation Latitude almost always has zero fault for the crash. Pilots fly the plane. NetJets dispatches the plane. Textron built the plane. A passenger is a passenger. The comparative-negligence issue arises only in unusual circumstances — for example, if a passenger interfered with the flight, was the actual pilot, or contributed to the cause in some other specific way. For the typical NetJets crash case, comparative fault is not a real threat to the family’s recovery, but the defense will still try to raise it, and we need to be ready to shut it down. Pre-judgment interest accrues at 5 percent simple interest under Tex. Fin. Code § 304.003, which can add 10 to 20 percent to the ultimate recovery on a multi-year case.
The Evidence Clock — What Dies First
If you remember nothing else from this page, remember this: the evidence that wins your case is being created, transmitted, and in some cases deleted right now. Federal regulations and corporate policies set specific retention periods, and many of the most important records in an aviation case are the first to disappear.
Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Flight Data Recorder (FDR) data. The NTSB secures the physical recorders within hours of the crash. The CVR captures the last two hours of cockpit audio — crew conversation, radio communications, alarms, switch clicks. The FDR captures hundreds of parameters: airspeed, altitude, attitude, control inputs, engine performance, configuration changes. The CVR is typically transcribed within 30 to 60 days. The NTSB’s factual reports and the group chairman’s analyses can take 6 to 18 months. The data itself does not ‘expire’ once in NTSB custody, but the parties’ ability to participate in the investigation, submit proposed questions, and request specific analyses is time-limited.
NetJets flight operations records. This is the company’s dispatch release for the flight, the filed flight plan, the weight-and-balance calculation, the fuel load, the weather packet the crew received, the NOTAMs, the crew’s qualifications and recent training, the flight-following logs, and the company’s communications with the crew during the flight. These records exist. They are at NetJets’ operational control center. They are subject to the company’s document retention policy and to federal discovery obligations — but the policy governs until a litigation-hold letter goes out. The litigation-hold letter must be served within the first seven to ten days. The Party to the NTSB investigation request under 49 CFR § 831.11 must be filed within five days of the crash to give the family a seat at the investigation table.
FlightRadar24 and ADS-B historical track data. The flight’s track is publicly available on FlightRadar24 — for now. Free-tier data is retained for a limited time, and detailed archives require a paid subscription. The flight track shows the altitude, ground speed, route, and descent profile over Laredo. It documents the diversion and any deviation from the filed flight plan. Preserve screenshots today. We will be pulling the full archive through paid channels immediately.
Pilot records. The pilots’ 72-hour personal histories (looking for fatigue, illness, medication, life stress), their logbooks, their medical certificates, their last proficiency check, their instrument proficiency check (IPC), their crew resource management (CRM) training, and their IMSAFE (illness, medication, stress, alcohol, fatigue, eating) self-assessments. These records establish whether the crew was qualified, rested, and fit for the flight. Demand the preservation letter to NetJets within seven days.
Aircraft maintenance records. The airframe, engine (Pratt & Whitney PW306D1), avionics, airworthiness directive (AD) compliance, service bulletin (SB) compliance, and recent inspection records. These records establish whether the aircraft was airworthy at departure and whether any mechanical issue contributed. Demand immediately — Textron and NetJets may begin repairing or decommissioning wreckage before all parties have a chance to inspect it.
Ground-handling records at SJD. Fuel quality and fuel-truck records, de-icing records, pre-flight walk-around photos, ground-crew logs. If fuel contamination or improper servicing contributed, the evidence is at Los Cabos and must be preserved through international legal cooperation. Mexican records are fragile and the Mexican service providers will not voluntarily preserve them.
911 recordings, Laredo PD body camera footage, TxDOT traffic camera footage, and civilian cell-phone video. Documents the emergency response, the scene conditions, the wreckage distribution, and any third-party injuries on Loop 20. Public-records requests to Laredo PD and TxDOT go out within days. Private video dissipates rapidly — anyone who captured footage on a phone may delete it within weeks.
The decedent’s electronic devices. Phone, tablet, laptop. These do not contain cockpit information, but they document the decedent’s communications in the hours before the flight, their location, their travel purpose, and their pre-flight condition. The family should preserve these devices exactly as they are. Do not unlock. Do not reset. Do not activate. A forensic preservation process will be used, and any tampering — even well-intentioned — can compromise the evidence.
Becoming a Party to the NTSB Investigation — Why It Matters in the First 5 Days
The NTSB investigation is the official, statutorily required inquiry into the cause of a transportation accident. Under 49 U.S.C. §§ 1131 through 1134, the NTSB has exclusive authority to investigate aviation accidents and issue a probable-cause determination. Under 49 CFR § 831.11, ‘parties’ to the investigation — typically the operator, the manufacturer, the pilots, the air traffic controller, and the relevant labor unions — are granted access to the factual record, the right to submit proposed questions, the right to attend depositions of witnesses, and the right to receive the group chairman’s factual reports and proposed probable cause.
Family members of the deceased are not automatically parties to the NTSB investigation. But under § 831.11, a representative of the victims’ families can be designated as a party — typically a lawyer acting on the family’s behalf. The request must be filed within five days of the crash. Once designated, the family’s representative has standing to participate in the investigation in a defined, limited role. They can attend factual hearings. They can submit proposed questions. They can review the CVR transcript. They can be present when the factual report is adopted. They cannot vote on probable cause, but they can make sure the family’s perspective is heard and that the investigation does not go down a one-sided path.
The NTSB’s probable-cause report, when issued 12 to 18 months later, is admissible in a civil trial as relevant evidence — it is not binding on the jury, but a jury that hears ‘the NTSB found the probable cause of this crash was X’ pays attention. Being a party to the investigation, asking the right questions during the investigation, and having access to the factual record as it is being built are all reasons the § 831.11 request matters. This is one of the first things we do.
The NetJets Claims Playbook — What the Adjuster Will Do Before the Funeral
NetJets is owned by Berkshire Hathaway. Berkshire’s aviation claims operation is sophisticated, well-funded, and moves faster than the families it calls. We know how it works, and we are going to walk you through the plays so they cannot run on you.
Play One: The friendly recorded-statement call within 24 to 48 hours. A claims representative will call, introduce themselves, express sympathy, and ask the family to ‘walk them through what happened’ — on a recorded line. The questions are engineered to elicit statements about the decedent’s health, mood, recent activities, relationship with the family, and any indication of impairment, distraction, or fault. The recording is preserved and may be used against the family in deposition and at trial. The counter: do not give a recorded statement without counsel present. Politely tell the caller your family is represented and all further communication should go through your attorney.
Play Two: The ‘expedited’ or ‘sympathy’ payment with a release. Within days, the family may receive a check — often a five- or six-figure number — with a release printed on the back or attached. The framing is ‘we want to help with immediate expenses.’ The reality is that cashing or signing the check waives claims far in excess of the payment amount. The counter: do not sign any release, do not cash any check, do not accept any payment until the family has counsel and the full scope of the claim has been evaluated. An initial offer is not a favor — it is a trap designed to settle a multi-million-dollar case for a fraction of its value before the family understands what it is worth.
Play Three: Broad medical and toxicology authorizations. The claims representative will ask the family to sign authorizations for the decedent’s medical records, pharmacy records, mental health records, and toxicology results. The authorizations are written broadly so the carrier can fish for anything that might shift fault to the decedent — a prior condition, a prescription, a therapy visit. The counter: authorizations should be drafted narrowly by your attorney, limited in time and scope, and reviewed before signing. A broad authorization gives the carrier a window into the decedent’s private medical history that is not relevant to the case and can be used to argue comparative fault.
Play Four: Social-media and public-records mining. The defense will pull the decedent’s social media accounts, public posts, photographs, professional profiles, and any public records that could be used to characterize them, their lifestyle, or their relationships. The counter: the family should not delete the decedent’s accounts — spoliation cuts both ways — but should be aware that nothing posted is private.
Play Five: The NTSB Party seat. NetJets will be a party to the NTSB investigation from day one. The company will have a representative in every factual hearing, a vote on the probable-cause finding, and access to the factual record as it is built. If the family does not have a representative, NetJets’ version of events is the only one the NTSB hears. The counter: file the § 831.11 party request immediately, ideally within five days.
All of this is mapped to specific conduct in Texas law. The Texas Insurance Code’s unfair-claims-practices provisions and the common-law duty of good faith and fair dealing give your family leverage when an insurer plays games — and we are prepared to use that leverage when it is needed.
Venue, Statute of Limitations, and Where the Case Will Be Filed
Under Texas law, a wrongful death action must be filed within two years of the date of death (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(b)). The survival action has the same two-year clock. If your family does not file suit within two years, the claim is permanently barred. Two years sounds like a long time. In an aviation case, it is not. The NTSB investigation takes 12 to 18 months, and we will not file suit until we have a sufficient factual record to do so effectively — but the deadline is real and we will be tracking it from day one.
Webb County, where Laredo sits, is the situs of the crash and is a proper venue. Webb County juries, however, tend to be conservative and pro-defendant in civil matters, which is a venue concern. Depending on the defendants’ domicile — NetJets is incorporated in Delaware with its principal place of business in Ohio; Textron is in Kansas — we will analyze venue options. Travis County (Austin), where the flight was originally headed, and Harris County (Houston), where our firm is based, are both potential venues with more plaintiff-favorable jury pools. The venue fight often begins with a forum non conveniens motion by the defense and ends with a strategic decision by us. We will be advising the family on venue from the outset, and the choice is theirs.
Case Value — What a Texas Aviation Wrongful Death Case Is Worth
There is no ‘average’ settlement in an aviation wrongful death case. The value depends on facts that are still developing, and we will not give you a number at intake. What we can tell you is what the range looks like and what drives it.
Low end, $2.5 million: cases involving older decedents with limited remaining earning capacity, no minor children, comparative fault exposure, and a quick, clean resolution with the operator’s insurance.
High end, $25 million and beyond: cases involving younger decedents with substantial earning capacity, minor children, clear operator or manufacturer fault, and significant non-economic damages. NetJets’ typical clientele profile — high-net-worth executives, professionals, business owners — pushes the damages calculation toward the higher end of the range. If the NTSB probable-cause finding points to a manufacturing defect and clear-and-convincing evidence of gross negligence on NetJets’ part, Texas wrongful-death verdicts in aviation cases have historically ranged from $15 million to $45 million.
What drives the number: the decedent’s age and earning profile; the ages and dependency of the spouse, children, and parents; the strength of the liability case (pilot error vs. mechanical vs. weather); the number and severity of co-defendants; and the venue. Five additional personal-injury claims from the surviving passengers add separate value, with their own medical specials, lost income, pain and suffering, and potential disfigurement. Punitive damages are possible in Texas on clear-and-convincing evidence of gross negligence, malice, or fraud, but they are capped under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 41.008 at the greater of $200,000 or two times the economic damages plus non-economic damages up to $750,000. The cap is real, and it is one of the reasons we focus the case on compensatory damages — the full, uncapped economic and non-economic losses Texas law allows in aviation death cases.
Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(b): “A person must bring suit for wrongful death not later than two years after the date of death.”
What Our Firm Can Do for Your Family
Attorney911 — The Manginello Law Firm, PLLC — was built on the idea that people in a legal emergency deserve a lawyer who picks up the phone right now, not next week. Ralph Manginello, our managing partner, has spent 27 years in courtrooms, including federal court. He was a journalist before he was a lawyer, a championship point guard before that, and he has tried cases against corporate defendants the size of mountains. He has been involved in major mass-tort litigation, including the BP Texas City refinery explosion case, and our firm has recovered more than $50 million for Texas families since 1998.
Lupe Peña, our associate attorney, is a former insurance defense lawyer. He spent years inside a national insurance defense firm, in the rooms where claims like yours are priced, where the reserves are set, where the recorded-statement scripts are written, and where Colossus-style settlement software decides how to undervalue injuries. He is fluent in Spanish and serves families fully in Spanish — Hablamos Español. We know the other side’s playbook because one of us lived it. Now we run it in reverse, for you.
Here is what we do, the day you call: we send the litigation-hold letter to NetJets, Textron Aviation, Pratt & Whitney, and the SJD service providers. We file the § 831.11 request to become a party to the NTSB investigation. We pull the FlightRadar24 archives. We coordinate with the Laredo Police Department and TxDOT for the 911 recordings, body camera footage, and traffic camera footage. We preserve the decedent’s devices through a forensic process. We coordinate with the other five injured passengers’ counsel where appropriate, while preserving each family’s independence. We begin the factual investigation that will support the NTSB participation, the liability case, and the damages case. We advise the family on every decision — including the decision not to give a recorded statement, not to sign a release, and not to accept the first offer.
The consultation is free, and there is no fee unless we win. Past results depend on the facts of each case and do not guarantee future outcomes. We serve families across Texas, in Laredo and in Houston, in Austin and in every county in between. Hablamos Español. The call that protects your family starts at 1-888-ATTY-911.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do first if my family member was on the NetJets flight that crashed in Laredo?
Do not give a recorded statement to anyone from NetJets, Berkshire Hathaway, or any insurer. Do not sign any release, settlement, or medical authorization. Preserve your loved one’s phone, tablet, and laptop exactly as they are. Preserve every text, email, and voicemail you receive from NetJets or anyone claiming to represent them. Call a lawyer before you return any call. The evidence clock starts the day of the crash, and the first 48 hours matter more than the next 18 months.
How long do I have to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Texas?
Two years from the date of death, under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(b). The same two-year clock applies to the survival action. The clock is real and unforgiving, but it does not mean you should file a rushed case. An aviation case needs the NTSB factual record to develop, and we will not file until the case is ready — but the deadline will be tracked from day one.
Is NetJets the only defendant, or can we also sue the pilots and the manufacturer?
All of them. NetJets as the operator under FAA Part 91 Subpart K and as the employer of the pilots. The pilots individually for their direct negligence in the diversion, fuel planning, and approach decisions. Textron Aviation (the manufacturer of the Citation Latitude) and component makers like Pratt & Whitney if a mechanical or systems failure contributed. We will identify every potential defendant during the investigation, and we will name them in the lawsuit when the factual record supports it.
What is an NTSB ‘Party to the Investigation’ and why does it matter?
Under 49 CFR § 831.11, certain designated parties — typically the operator, manufacturer, and pilot unions — are given access to the NTSB factual record, the right to attend factual hearings, the right to submit proposed questions, and the right to receive the group chairman’s reports. A representative of the victims’ families can be designated as a party if the request is filed within five days. Being a party does not give the family a vote on probable cause, but it gives them a seat at the table, access to the CVR transcript, and the ability to make sure the family’s perspective is part of the investigation. We file this request in the first week.
What damages can the family recover in a Texas aviation wrongful death case?
Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 71.001 through 71.003, the family can recover the pecuniary loss from the death (financial support, services, benefits, inheritance), loss of companionship and society, mental anguish, and (in cases of certain misconduct by the defendant) emotional pain and suffering. Texas law does not impose a cap on wrongful death or survival damages in aviation cases. The survival action brought by the estate can recover the decedent’s pre-death pain and suffering, pre-death medical expenses, and pre-death lost earnings. The size of the verdict is governed by the evidence — and the evidence in an aviation case involving a high-net-worth NetJets client can support substantial awards.
Will the case be filed in Laredo, or can it be filed somewhere else?
Webb County (Laredo) is a proper venue because the crash occurred there, but it is not the only venue. We will analyze where each defendant is domiciled and where the case has the strongest connection, and we will advise the family on the venue that gives them the best jury. Travis County (Austin, where the flight was originally headed) and Harris County (Houston, where our firm is based) are both potential venues with more plaintiff-favorable jury pools. The decision is made strategically, in consultation with the family, and often after the defense files a forum non conveniens motion to try to move the case to a defense-friendly county.
How long does an aviation wrongful death case take to resolve?
The NTSB probable-cause report is typically issued 12 to 18 months after the crash. Most aviation cases resolve through pre-suit mediation with the operator after the NTSB report is issued, or through settlement during the discovery phase of the litigation. Cases that do not settle go to trial. Aviation cases are technically complex and the discovery phase is intensive — engine downloads, FDR analysis, expert depositions, pilot testimony, company witness depositions — so a realistic timeline is 18 to 36 months from filing to resolution, with the possibility of trial extending that further.
What does it cost to hire Attorney911 for an aviation wrongful death case?
You pay nothing upfront, and there is no fee unless we win. Our fee is a contingency percentage of the recovery, and the exact percentage is set out in the engagement agreement you sign before we begin work. We advance the case costs — filing fees, expert fees, deposition costs, records retrieval — and we are reimbursed out of the recovery at the end. If we do not recover for you, you owe us nothing for fees or costs. The consultation is free. The call is free. Hablamos Español.
What if my loved one was one of the five injured passengers, not the person who died?
You have your own personal-injury claim, separate from the wrongful death case. Your claim includes your medical expenses (past and future), your lost income (past and future), your pain and suffering, your physical impairment, your disfigurement, and your emotional distress. Texas’s modified comparative negligence rule (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001) applies, but a passenger in a private jet almost always has zero fault for the crash. We will be coordinating with the other injured passengers’ counsel where appropriate to share expert costs and preserve consistency, but each family’s case is its own.
What if a civilian on Loop 20 was injured by the crash or by debris?
A motorist who was injured by aircraft wreckage, jet fuel, or debris on the roadway has a separate claim against NetJets, Textron, and potentially the City of Laredo or TxDOT. Claims against a Texas governmental entity require written notice under the Texas Tort Claims Act (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 101.101) within six months of the incident — a brutally short deadline. If you or a family member were on Loop 20 that night and were injured, call us immediately so the notice can be prepared and served on time.