“Robb & Robb LLC is the premier aviation law firm in the United States.”

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Leading Aviation Attorneys in the Nation

We Are a Law Firm That Gets Results - Over $2 Billion in Verdicts and Recoveries

Our attorneys at Robb & Robb have been fighting for justice and legal rights on behalf of plane and helicopter crash victims and their family members for more than four decades. We have an unsurpassed record of success in aviation law. And we wrote the helicopter litigation bookon helicopter aviation accident law.

Some of the UNITED STATES RECORD OUTCOMESobtained by our plane and helicopter crash attorneys at the law firm of Robb & Robb include:

The two highest jury verdicts in the history of the United States for helicopter accident trials – $350 million verdictand East River helicopter crash.
The largest pre-trial cash settlement for any individual wrongful death in U.S. history – Grand Canyon helicopter crash settlement(Nevada – 2024).
The largest pre-trial cash settlement for any individual injury in U.S. history – Colorado helicopter crash settlement(Colorado – 2018).

We have triumphed nationwide against corporate giants. Highlights of some of our many successes in aviation accidents include:

For forty years, our law firm’s aviation focus has been on representing families in helicopter and private plane crash lawsuits. Experience counts and results matter.

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We Wrote the Book We Defined the Modern Practice of Helicopter Crash Litigation

"This book is an essential volume...by accomplished trial lawyer Gary Robb, who has used these same techniques in a brilliant career..." - International Press Publications -

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Our helicopter crash lawyers have obtained the two highest jury verdicts in the United States in helicopter crash trials.
Our aviation attorneys have obtained the two highest pre-trial settlements in U.S. history, both for a single wrongful death and for a single personal injury.
We wrote the book on helicopter crash law.

Crash Resistant Fuel Systems & Post-Crash Fire Litigation

Our law firm has advocated for Crash Resistant Fuel Systems in helicopters for more than 20 years (read about Mr. Robb’s work on CRFS in the Wall Street Journal). A Crash Resistant Fuel System is designed to reduce fuel leakage following an otherwise survivable impact. This technology has been available since the 1960s, but the helicopter industry has resisted utilizing it. As a result, even a routine hard landing can result in a devastating and disabling post-crash fire.

We have handled cases including a $100 million cash settlement in 2024 in Nevada for the wrongful death of Jonathan Udall from post-crash burn injuries during a Grand Canyon tour, a $100 million cash settlement in 2018 in Colorado for the 90% burn injuries David Repsher suffered in a 2015 helicopter crash, and a 2001 settlement of $38 million for Chana Daskal’s burn injuries sustained in a Grand Canyon helicopter crash.

On December 22, 2023, just before the scheduled Udall trial, Airbus offered its Crash Resistant Fuel System retrofits free of charge to United States customers for the first time. Mr. Robb called Airbus’s action too little too late.

How We Can Help After a Helicopter Crash

Helicopter accidents require careful examination of the aircraft, flight mission, operating environment, and decisions made before impact. Historical National Transportation Safety Board data reported 15 fatal crashes in the first six months of 2019 alone, resulting in the deaths of 27 people. That dated figure isn’t a measure of current accident frequency, but it illustrates why investigators review accident records and individual flight circumstances rather than relying on assumptions about a crash.

How Helicopter Accidents Are Investigated

A helicopter investigation may examine wreckage, maintenance and inspection records, pilot qualifications, training, weather, flight communications, operator policies, witness accounts, and applicable aviation requirements. The National Transportation Safety Board investigates civil aviation accidents in the United States, but its work doesn’t independently decide every issue of liability in a civil case. A separate legal investigation may be needed to identify the conduct of pilots, operators, owners, maintenance providers, manufacturers, component suppliers, or other responsible parties.

Helicopter components and controls are complex. The main rotor, tail rotor, drive shaft, gearbox, flight controls, and fuel system must function together during flight. Investigators may need to determine whether a loss of control, component failure, inadequate maintenance, fuel-system design, operational decision, or post-crash fire contributed to the injuries or deaths.

Environmental conditions can be central to the investigation. Relevant subjects may include visibility, wind, weather, terrain, the suitability of a landing site, utility wires, towers, nearby buildings, and the pilot’s familiarity with the route or destination. Low-altitude operations can place helicopters closer to obstacles than fixed-wing aircraft, particularly during takeoff, landing, emergency response, or utility work.

Mission-Specific Helicopter Risks

Our helicopter cases and investigative materials address air ambulance and medical evacuation, sightseeing and touring, law enforcement, utility inspections, firefighting, news gathering, search and rescue, private transportation, and offshore transport. Each mission presents different operational demands. A medical-helicopter investigation, for example, may examine time pressure, landing-zone selection, weather decisions, crew coordination, and the operator’s procedures.

Las Vegas & Clark County Aviation Activity

The Las Vegas aviation environment includes Harry Reid International Airport, North Las Vegas Airport, Henderson Executive Airport, and Boulder City Municipal Airport, along with other Clark County aviation facilities. Flights in the area can include private transportation, charter operations, corporate travel, sightseeing, emergency services, and general aviation. General aviation means civil flying outside commercial air transport or aerial work, including many private, business, and nonscheduled operations.

An accident connected to one of these facilities may still involve evidence, defendants, maintenance records, or aircraft ownership located outside Nevada. The governing law and available claims depend on the operation, accident facts, parties, and jurisdictions involved.

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Private-Plane, Charter & Corporate-Aircraft Litigation

We handle aviation cases that require aviation-law experience. We represent victims and families affected by private-plane, charter-flight, corporate-aircraft, sightseeing, skydiving, business-travel, and emergency-operation crashes.

Our reported airplane results include a $52.5 million settlement following a $48 million jury verdict involving a Twin Otter crash, a $48 million DeHavilland plane verdict, a $27.5 million skydiving-plane settlement, and a $26 million Cessna 421 wrongful death settlement. These national results aren’t presented as Las Vegas-specific recoveries.

Our aviation crash attorneys investigate pilot error, negligent operations, defective equipment, and other potential causes to identify potentially responsible parties and pursue the compensation and accountability available under the governing law.

How We Can Help After a Plane Crash

Request a Free Aviation Accident Case Review

Injured survivors and families who lost a loved one in a plane, helicopter, charter, or private-aircraft accident can request a free initial review. Our nationwide aviation practice isn’t limited to one airport, aircraft category, or type of operator.

Prompt guidance can help you understand what to do before making detailed statements, signing a release, accepting an insurer’s offer, or losing access to relevant records and physical evidence.

A reference list of past clients and referring lawyers is available upon request. We don’t solicit clients for litigation.

Call us toll-free at (877) 749-4999 to discuss your aviation accident case with Robb & Robb.

Private-plane crash lawsuits are complex. Some private aircraft don’t carry the same flight-recording equipment found on commercial airliners, and the available maintenance, certification, and operational records can vary by aircraft and type of operation. When damage, inadequate maintenance, or equipment defects aren’t detected and remedied, those failures may become central issues in a plane crash investigation.

General Aviation & Charter Accident Cases

General aviation generally refers to civil aviation operations outside commercial air transport or aerial work. It includes many private planes, business jets, and chartered aircraft. Private and charter operations may involve different aircraft equipment, maintenance practices, available records, operating rules, and contractual relationships than scheduled airline travel.

Our aviation accident attorneys have obtained record-setting results for clients in these cases. We represent victims of private and charter airplane crashes. Our cases have involved:

Our private-plane crash lawyers have represented the families of executives, charter passengers, and crews in Cessna and DeHavilland crashes. Other cases have involved executive and business travel, skydiving, sightseeing, medical situations, and emergency operations.

Potential Causes of Private-Plane Crashes

Private and charter aircraft crashes can result from multiple interacting causes. The conduct of the pilot is often a focus, but an investigation shouldn’t stop there. Aircraft owners, operators, charter companies, maintenance providers, manufacturers, component suppliers, and air-traffic-control entities may possess relevant records or have responsibility for a safety issue.

Bad weather can affect smaller aircraft differently than large commercial airplanes. Other potential causes include fuel exhaustion or mismanagement, air-traffic-control errors, collisions with wildlife or stationary objects, inadequate pilot training, operational decisions, and failures in aircraft systems.

Aircraft components that may require investigation include:

A defective aftermarket compressor-turbine blade was part of the case that produced the reported DeHavilland verdict. An oil-transfer-tube failure was involved in the reported Cessna 206 settlement.

Theories of liability and potential damages depend on the accident facts, aircraft operation, available evidence, applicable federal and state law, and the parties involved. Recoverable losses may include medical expenses, lost income, future care, pain and suffering, property damage, and wrongful death losses when supported by the governing law and evidence.

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Robb & Robb in the News

National headlines consistently follow this firm’s most consequential cases, as their work drives accountability and lasting change across the aviation industry. From record-setting verdicts to precedent-shaping litigation, their cases are widely covered by major news outlets for their impact and significance. Each outcome not only delivers justice for families, but also advances critical safety reforms that help protect the flying public nationwide.

Media Highlights

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Unsurpassed Record of Success

We have secured over $2 billion in verdicts and settlements, becoming aviation’s most influential safety advocate. Our record includes the two highest U.S. helicopter crash jury verdicts—$350 million and $116 million—and we are the only firm to recover $100 million or more for a single aviation death or injury in five separate jurisdictions nationwide.
Family Led, Nationally Recognized

Led by two generations of one family – husband and wife Founding Partners Gary C. Robb and Anita Porte Robb, their son and Partner Andrew C. Robb along with his wife, Partner Brittany Sanders Robb, this law firm is nationally recognized as the leader in aviation litigation. Guided by integrity, courage, and accountability, they have become a moral force, driving modern aviation reform and safer skies nationwide.
Leading Authority in Aviation Law
With decades of focused aviation litigation experience, this firm brings unparalleled knowledge to the most complex cases. Founding Partner Gary C. Robb authored the authoritative text on helicopter law, and the firms’ attorneys are widely regarded as the foremost experts in the field. No law firm is better equipped to navigate the technical, regulatory, and legal challenges that aviation cases is demand.