A celebrity disc jockey who survived a fiery Learjet crash in South Carolina has sued several companies and the estates of the plane’s pilots.
Adam Goldstein, known as DJ AM, filed his complaint for negligence and breach of contract Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. Goldstein and punk rocker Travis Barker, who has also sued the companies, were the sole survivors of the Sept. 19 crash.
Barker sued on behalf of the family of his bodyguard, Charles Still, and the widow of Barker’s assistant, Chris Baker, filed her own lawsuit earlier this month.
Goldstein and Barker were seriously burned escaping the plane. The pair plan to perform together again for the first time since the crash at an event in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve. They perform under the name TRVSDJAM.
Goldstein’s lawsuit seeks a jury trial, but doesn’t specify how much money he hopes to receive for loss of earnings, medical expenses, pain and suffering and other damages.
He is also suing the estates of the plane’s pilots, Sarah Lemmon, and James Bland. A phone number for Lemmon’s mother couldn’t be located, and Bland’s wife declined to comment Wednesday.
The lawsuit claims the plane’s owners and operators acted in a careless and negligent manner and that Goldstein has been seriously harmed – physically and financially – by the crash.
Federal investigators have not yet determined the cause of the crash.
Aviation authorities have said cockpit recordings indicated the jet’s crew thought a tire had blown during takeoff. National Transportation Safety Board officials have said pieces of tire were recovered about 2,800 feet from where the plane started its takeoff down the 8,600-foot runway in Columbia, S.C.
The lawsuit names Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., which in response to Barker’s lawsuit said that it was too soon to speculate on what role tires may have played in the crash. Also named were Bombardier Inc., which manufactures Learjet planes and doesn’t comment on pending lawsuits.
Clay Lacy Aviation, Global Exec Aviation and Inter Travel and Services Inc. are also named as defendants. A Clay Lacy representative said in response to Barker’s suit that the company didn’t operate the plane that crashed, but merely brokered the flight.
A receptionist for Global Exec Aviation said no one would be available to comment because of the Christmas holiday, and a phone number for Inter Travel and Services couldn’t be located Wednesday morning.
