Oliver Frascona, 67, Tori Rains-Wedan, 41, Mason Wedan, 15, and twins Austin and Hunter Wedan, 11, killed in plane crash at Erie Municipal Airport in Boulder County, Colorado

4/27/1    6 For immediate release

A Weld County Jury yesterday ruled that Boulder attorney, Oliver Frascona, was not negligent or careless in the operation of his Piper Malibu that crashed on August 31, 2014 at the Erie Tri-County Air Park killing Mr. Frascona, Tori Rains-Wedan, and her children Hunter, Mason and Austin and Mr. Frascona’s dog.

Frascona was inbound for a straight-in approach to the north at Erie when another more powerful aircraft departed to the south on the same runway, flew into Mr. Frascona’s approach path and caused a near mid-air collision only seconds from Mr. Frascona’s plane landing.  Frascona attempted a go-around due to his approach being destabilized, but lacked sufficient airspeed and altitude to recover from the shock of the incident, and crashed.  The other pilot stated that he never heard Mr. Frascona’s radio call stating that he was approaching from the south, and he said he never saw Frascona’s plane except on his traffic alert system once he lifted off.

The families of Mr. Frascona’s passengers filed a civil lawsuit for wrongful death for the loss of Tori and the children.  A six person jury listened to eye and ear witness testimony, and two accident reconstruction experts during the seven day trial before returning a verdict that neither pilot was negligent.  Doug Barber, the personal representative for Mr. Frascona’s estate and friend of Tori Rains-Wedan, stated, “Three families suffered a tragic loss, and our hearts go out to them all.  We are grateful to the jury for their time and attention, and we agree with their determination that sometimes bad things happen and there is nobody to blame.  Some things just are accidents.”