Defendants in a federal lawsuit filed by survivors of the two men who died in the July 2002 crash of a firefighting plane argued in Casper on Thursday that the case should not go to trial.

"The happening of an accident doesn't mean someone was negligent," said attorney Rick Koehmstedt.

Koehmstedt was one of several attorneys who spoke during a 40-minute time period devoted to arguments from the defense urging that the suit should be dismissed or that various of the defendants should be dropped from it.

Pilot Rick Schwartz of Ulm, Mont., and co-pilot Milton Stollak of Cathedral City, Calif., died July 18, 2002, as they flew a World War II-era plane as part of an operation to drop retardant over a fire in the Colorado mountains near Estes Park. The plane was owned by Hawkins & Powers Aviation Inc. of Greybull.

Chief U.S. District Judge William Downes could issue a ruling on the motions any time in the next several weeks. The suit is scheduled to go to trial in about five weeks.

At issue is the integrity of the Consolidated Vultee P4Y-2 Privateer aircraft and the question of whether it was maintained properly. Downes made reference at one point to the plane's age, pointing out that it had been around longer than he had.

The suit names Hawkins & Powers as well as several individuals. Debra Fowler, senior aviation counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice, argued that the U.S. Forest Service, which contracted with Hawkins & Powers to operate the plane, should be dismissed from the suit. She argued that there was no obligation for the government to supervise maintenance of the plane.

Terry Mackey, an attorney for the plaintiffs, argued to the contrary.

"The issue here is, there is a chain of command," Mackey said.

Attorneys for the defendants also argued that pilots bear some responsibility for monitoring the state of the aircraft they fly.

In reply, attorney Shandor Badaruddin said the pilots "were threatened that if they didn't fly, they'd be fired."

News Tracker

The last we knew: Survivors of two men killed in the July 2002 crash in Colorado of a plane used to fight wildfires filed a federal lawsuit against Hawkins & Powers Aviation Inc. of Greybull and various individuals and agencies.

The latest: Attorneys for the defendants in the case argued on Thursday that the suit should be dismissed.

What's next: Chief U.S. District Judge William Downes could issue a ruling on the motions any time in the next several weeks.

Reporter Anthony Lane can be reached at (307) 266-0593 or at anthony.lane@casperstartribune.net.