Santa Barbara Airlines Flight 518

Location: Caracas, Venezuela
Date: February 21, 2008
Aircraft: ATR 42-300

Santa Barbara Airlines Flight 518 crashed in the Venezuelan Andes approximately 300 miles southwest of Caracas on Thursday, February 21, 2008. The flight, en route from Merida to Caracas, was reported missing at 5:45 p.m. local time when the flight crew did not respond to air traffic controllers. All 46 individuals on board the ATR 42-300 turbo-prop aircraft, including 43 passengers and 3 crew members, perished in the crash. 

Motley Rice attorney Mary Schiavo was once a plaintiffs’ expert witness in an ATR crash in Chicago, Illinois, and gave opinions on improper certification of the ATR aircraft and its lack of robust testing. 

The Motley Rice aviation team is researching this accident and the legal responsibility that Santa Barbara Airlines and other potential defendants may have to the families of the victims of this disaster. If you or someone you know is interested in seeking legal recourse due to wrongful death as a result of this accident, please contact Motley Rice aviation attorney Mary Schiavo by email or call +1 800.868.6456.