NASCAR Cup Series

Report: Judge rules no air-traffic controller error in tragic Hendrick crash

Published Sep. 9, 2010 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

A U.S. District Court judge ruled air-traffic controllers were not to blame in the 2004 crash of a Hendrick Motorsports’ plane that resulted in the loss of 10 lives, according to a story on SceneDaily.com.

According to the report, the judge ruled that pilot error in executing a missed landing approach resulted in the crash. Nothing was awarded to Hendrick Motorsports or widows Linda Turner (Hendrick general manager Jeff Turner) and Dianne Dorton (Hendrick engine builder Randy Dorton), who had brought the case. Each had alleged violations by the air-traffic controllers, including not warning the pilots that the plane was too close to terrain.

The pilots missed the approach to Bull Ridge Airport in Martinsville, Va., as the group headed to that day’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race. Flying in foggy conditions, they failed to execute the proper missed approach that included a right-hand turn and crashed into Bull Mountain. Hendrick President John Hendrick, brother to team owner Rick Hendrick, John’s twin daughters and Rick Hendrick’s son, Ricky, were among those killed in the crash.