OSU plane crash survivors sue plane's owner

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ The families of three people who died in the Oklahoma State University plane crash are suing the manager of the company that owned the aircraft. <br><br>The survivors accuse San Francisco

Saturday, January 25th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ The families of three people who died in the Oklahoma State University plane crash are suing the manager of the company that owned the aircraft.

The survivors accuse San Francisco resident Richard F. Davis of conducting an on-demand air charter business in violation of federal regulations and otherwise without due care, according to one of the wrongful death lawsuits filed Friday.

Davis also owns North Bay Charter of Reno, Nev.

The lawsuits were filed on behalf of the families of basketball players Nathan Fleming and Daniel Lawson Jr. and manager Jared Weiberg.

They were among the 10 men killed near Strasburg, Colo., when the plane crashed shortly after leaving a basketball game at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

Attorney Charles Moser said he filed the lawsuit because the statute of limitations expires Monday, the second anniversary of the Jan. 27, 2001, air crash.

The lawsuits come two days after a National Transportation Safety Board report was made public, but Moser said the filings were not connected to the report.

``It was only in late December that we learned of some additional evidence that warrants bringing Mr. Davis into the lawsuit,'' Moser said.

Davis could not be reached for comment.

The NTSB reported attributed the cause of the crash to the pilot's failure to respond correctly to an electrical malfunction on the plane.

Earlier, wrongful death lawsuits were filed against the estate of pilot Denver Mills and North Bay Charter, but they did not identified Davis as the owner.

Moser said the plaintiffs have learned that all the actions of the company were actually taken by Davis.