Suit filed in Calera air crash

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, April 3, 2007

The Bibb County woman who watched her husband and son die last September in a Calera air show crash has filed a wrongful death suit against the plane&8217;s owner and its late pilot&8217;s estate.

Indian Springs pilot Clayton Reuse, John Smitherman and his 11-year-old son Landon were all killed Sept. 23 after the Beechcraft Bonanza they were riding in ran out of fuel before the Wings and Wheels air show.

Pam Smitherman claims Reuse, the Birmingham Aero Club Safe Foundation and co-owner John Rogers were negligent in their safety procedures.

&8220;They had a responsiblity to the public to make sure the aircraft was safe,&8221; said attorney Cole Portis, who is asking a jury to award damages.

Efforts to reach the defendants were unsuccessful