Alaska court finds rescue service partly liable for death of Czech billionaire Petr Kellner

An Alaska court has ruled that a mountain rescue service operator shares partial responsibility for the death of Czech billionaire Petr Kellner in a 2021 helicopter crash. The jury awarded his family millions of dollars in damages.

Alaska court finds rescue service partly liable for death of Czech billionaire Petr Kellner

A jury in Anchorage has found a mountain rescue service operator partly responsible for the death of Czech businessman Petr Kellner, who perished in a helicopter crash in March 2021. The court awarded his surviving family members millions of dollars in damages for the botched rescue operation.

Kellner died on March 27, 2021, when an Airbus AS350 B3 helicopter crashed in the Chugach Mountains during a heli-skiing trip. Four other people, including the pilot, also lost their lives. The sole survivor was Czech skydiver David Horváth, who was pulled from the wreckage.

The jury determined that the rescue company caused harm to the victims' relatives through failures during the emergency response. A judge will set the exact amount of compensation in a separate proceeding.

At the time of his death, Kellner was the wealthiest person in the Czech Republic and co-founder of the investment group PPF. His fortune was estimated at over $17 billion. The conglomerate operates in finance, telecommunications, biotechnology, and real estate across multiple continents.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) previously reported that the aircraft struck a mountainside while attempting to land in difficult conditions. The final investigation identified several contributing factors to the tragedy.

Source: E15.cz

Source: Google News CZ — Crime (cs)