Lidle Suit Claims Ballplayer's Presumed Future Earnings

Probable cause: The pilots' inadequate planning, judgment, and airmanship in the performance of a 180º turn maneuver inside of a limited turning space.

If in doubt - Sue

Sports Columnist Says Math Doesn't Add Up

Cirrus Design has been sued by the widow of former New York Yankees baseball pitcher Cory Lidle for some $50 million, based on claims by the late ballplayer's agent Lidle would have made at least that much had his career not been cut short by the October 2006 plane crash that claimed his life.

Lidle and flight instructor Tyler Stanger were killed when their Cirrus SR20 crashed into a Manhattan apartment building while attempting a 180-degree turn maneuver above the East River. In addition to the victims onboard the plane, three people on the ground were injured.

Despite a Probable Cause report from the National Transportation Safety Board that put all blame for the accident on the failure by both pilots (it could not be determined whether Lidle or Stanger was flying the plane) to properly execute a steep turn over the river -- and the Board's assertion no evidence of any system, structural or engine malfunctions were found with the aircraft -- that hasn't stopped lawsuits from flying in the aftermath of the October 11, 2006 accident.

Melanie Lidle filed suit against Cirrus in February 2007, claiming product liability and negligence... including "catastrophic failure" of the craft's flight control system (presumably based on the 1999 'aileron failure' accident that claimed the life of a Cirrus SR20 test pilot.) Again, the NTSB found no evidence of such a failure in the Lidle case... but Board reports are inadmissible in court.

Now, the New York Post reports agent Jordan Feagan says Lidle would have collected $45 million in salary, with the difference made up from post-retirement income tied to coaching and other engagements. However, one sports columnist notes the math simply doesn't added up.

Josh Alper of WNBC notes Lidle would have been 35 years old at the start of the 2007 season... near the age of retirement for professional baseball players. Lidle had never collected more than $3.3 million in a single season before his death, and in Alper's words "was as average a pitcher as you could find in the major leagues.

"He certainly would have pitched for another year or two or three, but he wasn't going to be making $8 million a year," Alper adds. "And there just isn't enough money in being a pitching coach, especially one who would likely be in the minors for several years while making his way up the ladder, to make the [$50 million] claim stand up on the back end."

Alper concedes it's possible Feagan is lumping Lidle's retirement pension in to reach the $50 million mark, though he adds any number of issues could have prevented Lidle from collecting the full amount. For that matter, "Lidle could have done any number of things that would have impacted his ability to play another game in the major leagues before the 2007 season got underway," Alper notes.

The Lidle family's attempt to collect money from the manufacturer may not simply be a money grab. Alper notes the family has been sued by several tenants of the apartment building that was hit, on the basis pilot error was to blame. If the Lidles can throw the blame on Cirrus, Alper notes, that changes things.

(Stanger's family has also been sued, though not to the extent the Lidles have... possibly, due to the simple fact CFIs make much less than professional ballplayers. The Stanger family has also sued Cirrus -- Ed.)

FMI: Read The Probable Cause Report, www.fanhouse.com