MIAMI (March 7, 2001) — Colson Hicks Eidson today announced it has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Hipolito and Ubencia Algarroba against American Airlines (NYSE:AMR) in the November crash of Flight 587 which was bound for the Dominican Republic when it lost both engines and went down in the Rockaway Beach residential area of the borough of Queens, four minutes after taking off from John F. Kennedy airport.

The lawsuit, filed in United States District Court in New York today, alleges that faulty equipment and pilot error are to blame for the crash. All 260 passengers, including the Algarrobas, and at least five people on the ground perished when the plane hit several homes.

“American Airlines, and Airbus, the maker of the aircraft, are clearly at fault in this case and we will prove that, “ said Mike Eidson, a partner at Colson Hicks Eidson, a firm which practices aviation law located in Coral Gables, Florida. “Their negligence led to the death of many innocent passengers whose families must be compensated for their loss.”

Officials of the National Transportation Safety Board are questioning whether the pilots overreacted to mild turbulence coming from the wingtips of a Japan Airlines Boeing 747 flying several miles ahead of AA Flight 587. “The flight data recorder shows that Flight 587’s rudder moved rapidly back and forth causing the plane’s tail fin to separate, immediately throwing the plane out of control,” said a partner at Colson Hicks Eidson.

“The fatal rudder motions were a result of either pilot negligence, mechanical or material defects or both,” said Eidson.

Also in question is the safety of the Airbus A300 engines on the plane, which separated from the plane shortly after it went out of control. The CF6 engines were made by General Electric.

“The crash of American Airlines Flight 587 and the tragic loss of hundreds of lives, raises disturbing questions about the safety of passenger aircraft,” said Eidson. “American Airlines and Airbus must answer those questions, not only for the Algarrobas, but for all of the families whose loved ones died on that plane.”

The Algarrobas were on their way to the Dominican Republic to do charity work for the HHS Foundation, a non-profit organization the family founded in 1999 to help needy children in that country. The Algarrobas are survived by their three children—Maria de la Cruz of Providence, Rhode Island; and Hector and Milagros Algarroba, who are both residents of New York City.