On Aug. 5, 2009, plaintiffs’ decedent Dr. Kenneth Gottlieb, 67, a forensic psychiatrist, was on a solo flight in his Cessna 182 that took off from Napa Airport. As Gottlieb’s Cessna climbed from the runway, it turned in the wrong direction and collided with high terrain just north of the airport. Gottlieb was killed on impact, his body was ejected, and the aircraft exploded and burned. The National Transportation Safety Board ruled Gottlieb’s crash as being due to pilot error, finding that Gottlieb encountered poor weather, became confused, and failed to follow the correct instrument departure procedure. Thus, it determined that Gottlieb’s disorientation lead to the collision with the terrain. The Gottlieb family learned that an instructor had flown with the decedent a few days before the crash and that he had found the decedent to be proficient in the Napa departure procedure and otherwise meticulous in his flying. Thus, the instructor felt it was unlikely that the decedent would become confused and turn in the wrong direction, and he surmised that whatever caused the crash was not due to pilot error. The decedent’s wife, plaintiff Gale Gottlieb, and his adult children, plaintiff daughter Tamar Gottlieb McLachlan and plaintiff son Michael Gottlieb, sued the Cessna’s mechanic, Faride Khalaf. The family alleged that Khalaf was negligent in the maintenance of the aircraft, had failed to inspect the aircraft, and had made misrepresentations that led to the decedent’s wrongful death. Plaintiff’s counsel noted that the investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board failed to ask witnesses what the weather was actually like on the morning of the crash and, instead, relied on automated weather recording devices, which are frequently in error. Counsel argued that had the investigator spoken to the witnesses, she would have learned that the terrain was illuminated by a full moon and that, contrary to the recorded information, there was no bad weather or obstructions to flight visibility. Plaintiffs’ counsel argued that Khalaf began working on the subject aircraft only after he was fired from United Airlines. Counsel also argued that Khalaf routinely performed maintenance on the Cessna without properly recording the work in the aircraft’s logs and that such undocumented maintenance included a repair on the pilot’s seat just a few weeks before the crash. Plaintiffs’ counsel further argued that Khalaf billed the aircraft owners for a new seat release mechanism, but that Khalaf did not install it and, instead, illegally jury-rigged the existing hardware. Plaintiffs’ counsel noted that emails were found from Khalaf on the decedent’s hard drive, in which the decedent asked Khalaf to perform an annual inspection of the aircraft just days before the crash. Counsel noted that Khalaf’s emails confirmed that he had “finished with the annual” and that the plane was “good to go.” Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that based on Khalaf’s confirmation, the decedent believed the plane was safe to fly and departed on his flight from Napa. However, counsel argued that Khalaf never inspected the plane at all, but only changed the oil to make it appear as though he had serviced the aircraft when he had not. Plaintiffs’ counsel further argued that if Khalaf had performed the inspection, he might have learned that his previous improper seat repairs were about to fail. The plaintiffs’ experts’ forensic work revealed that as the decedent’s aircraft climbed away from the runway, his seat suddenly and unexpectedly slid to its full aft position and jammed in a fashion such that the decedent’s hands and feet could not reach the aircraft’s controls, which caused the aircraft to fly off course and out of control. The experts also determined that the decedent must have unbuckled his seat belt so that he could scoot on his knees up to the aircraft’s control wheel, but that before he could regain control of the aircraft, it crashed into the hillside. Khalaf, appearing pro se, denied that he did anything wrong or that anything he did caused the crash. He explained that the emails to the decedent that stated that he was “finished with the annual” did not mean that the aircraft was ready to be flown or that it was legally allowed off the ground because he had not signed the aircraft’s logbooks. He contended that until the logbooks are signed, regulations prohibit a pilot from taking off. Khalaf’s aircraft maintenance expert testified that all of Khalaf’s maintenance practices and record keeping were appropriate. Thus, Khalaf blamed the decedent for flying the Cessna when he had not confirmed whether it was airworthy., Dr. Kenneth Gottlieb died on impact. He was 67 years old and a prominent San Francisco forensic psychiatrist. He is survived by his wife of more than 36 years, Gale Gottlieb; his adult daughter, Tamar Gottlieb McLachlan; and his adult son, Michael Gottlieb, who is a lawyer and special counsel to President Barack Obama. The Gottlieb family claimed that the decedent enjoyed a close relationship with both his daughter and son. Thus, they sought recovery of wrongful death damages. According to plaintiffs’ counsel, the decedent’s family offered to drop the suit entirely before trial if Khalaf agreed to surrender his mechanic’s licenses, but Khalaf refused. As a result, Khalaf’s attorney resigned, and Khalaf elected to represent himself at trial.