Arlington Fly-In won’t have to pay $10.5 million

Published 11:01 pm Thursday, October 16, 2008

ARLINGTON — A state appellate court has reversed a $10.5 million jury award won by the estate and widow of a man who died after he crashed an experimental airplane during the 1999 Arlington Fly-In.

Donald Allen Corbitt of Bellevue was pinned in the wreckage of his RV-6A experimental plane when he crashed after take off at the Arlington Airport. He survived the impact but died when fire raced through the crash scene.

A Snohomish County Superior Court jury in December 2006 found the sponsors of the annual air show responsible for failing to provide enough emergency response and fire protection.

The Northwest Experimental Aircraft Association and the Experimental Aircraft Association, based in Wisconsin, wound up on the hook for most of $10.5 million in damages awarded by jurors.

The state Court of Appeals, Division One, on Monday threw out the award, ruling the fly-in sponsors could not be held responsible. The ruling was based in part because the crash did not occur on land leased or owned by the sponsors.

“The facts of this case are tragic, the injuries preceding (Corbitt’s) death were horrific,” Judge Marlin Appelwick wrote.

The experimental aircraft association is pleased with the decision reversing the damage award, its president, Tom Poberezny said.

“We believe the unanimous decision of the appeals court properly reflects our position in this case,” he said.

The city of Arlington also was sued but was earlier dismissed from the lawsuit.

Started in 1969, the Arlington Fly-In is the third largest fly-in in the nation, attracting as many as 50,000 visitors a year.