Month after month, there are reports of private plane crashes—usually with no survivors. Not only do these crashes prove fatal for the occupants of the air craft, but far too often there are on-the-ground victims who are either killed or seriously injured when a plane crashes to the ground.

Two weeks ago, a mother and her two children were killed when a small plane crashed into their home in Gaithersburg, Maryland. According to reports from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the home burst into fire and the victims were trapped inside. The 36 year-old mother’s body was found huddled and holding the bodies of her seven-week old and three year-old sons. Additionally, all three occupants of the plane were killed in the crash. The plane was only one mile away from its destination when it crashed.

In 2011, the NTSB reported that 94 percent of all fatal plane crashes were categorized as general aviation. The general aviation category includes all small private planes, whether the aircraft is being flown by an experienced pilot or an amateur pilot. The agency’s statistics show that there are seven accidents per 100,000 flight hours in general aviation. For commercial aviation, those statistics are 0.16 accidents per 100,000 flight hours.

The majority of general aviation accidents involve pilot error, and the NTSB notes that most of these accidents are preventable. Many of this country’s 220,000 general aviation pilots do not have enough experience or training when experiencing situations such as bad weather. In fact, when an incident happens, they panic.

The head of the NTSB says that general aviation safety has now become top priority and the agency has implemented “safety alerts” and training videos in an effort to help educate general aviation pilots. The goal is to substantially decrease the number of general aviation accidents that occur annually, which currently number 1,500. Almost 450 people are killed in these accidents every year.

If you have lost a loved one in a fatal private plan crash, or a different type of accident caused by another person’s negligence, contact an experienced Westport wrongful death attorney to discuss the legal recourse you may have against the responsible party.

A report issued by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has determined the cause of last year’s fatal New York City train derailment: the train engineer fell asleep due to an undiagnosed sleep disorder.

The fatal accident occurred on an early Sunday morning last December. The Manhattan-bound Metro-North commuter train was going 50 miles per hour over the speed limit—more than three times the allowed speed—when it went around a curve and suddenly derailed. Four of the 115 people on board the train were killed in the accident and another 67 people were injured. The locomotive and all seven of the passenger cars jumped the tracks, causing approximately $9 million worth of damage.

According to the NTSB’s report, the train engineer suffered from sleep apnea, which causes the airways to become obstructed or collapse during sleep and can cause sufferers to struggle with drowsiness.

In the engineer’s case, the disorder had never been diagnosed and he was unaware that he suffered from the problem. The report pointed out that the railroad had no policy in place to screen employees for sleep disorders. Compounding the engineer’s condition was a sudden change in his work schedule, having been moved to an early morning work shift just prior to the train crash.

Additionally, Senator Richard Blumenthal noted how the NTSB report showed “the cascading catastrophes over a single year illustrating the urgent need for dramatic upgrades and improvements in safety and reliability.” In fact, positive train control, a specific technology that was not in use during the time of the derailment, can “automatically bring a train to a stop” if speeding.

Statics from the Federal Railroad Administration show that there are more than 3,000 train accidents every year causing deaths, injuries, and property damage. Not only are passengers at risk for death and injury for many preventable train accidents, but railroad employees are particularly vulnerable in these incidents.

If you have lost a family member in an accident caused by the negligence of someone else, contact an experienced Westport wrongful death attorney today to find out what legal compensation you may be entitled to for pain or loss.