The family of one of the couples killed in a Weber County plane crash in July is suing the estate of the other couple aboard, who owned the aircraft.
The four children and parents of Perry and Sara Huffaker filed suit Friday in Weber County’s 2nd District Court against Donette Crayton, who represents the estate of her brother Layne Clarke and his wife, Diana Clarke.
The suit says that the Clarkes owned and operated the plane, which went down in the middle of Interstate 15 near Riverdale on July 26, killing them and the Huffakers.
The Beechcraft A36 Bonanza — a six-seat, single-engine plane — made odd sounds as it took off minutes earlier from the Ogden-Hinckley Airport, and in the moments leading up to the crash, Layne Clarke warned traffic controllers that the plane was “going down.”
The National Transportation Safety Board said at the time it would take at least a year to determine what had caused the crash.
| courtesy city of Ogden Perry Huffaker, died Wednesday with three others in a plane crash.
(Courtesy Photo) Diana and Layne Clarke died July 26, 2017 in a plane crash. They left behind four children.
Both couples were parents.
Friday’s lawsuit states that the Huffakers died as a “direct and proximate result” of failure to “use reasonable care in the ownership and operation of the airplane.”
Aside from killing the passengers aboard, the suit says, the Clarkes’ “negligence” caused the Huffakers’ relatives to incur medical expenses; endure physical, mental and emotional pain; and lose financial support as well as the companionship of their loved ones.
The Salt Lake Tribune attempted call Crayton on Friday night and was not successful.
The Huffaker family asked for damages and attorney fees. It requested a jury trial.
