Payne Stewart Crash Lawsuit

By Stephen M. Silverman

07/09/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

The family of golf champ Payne Stewart, who was killed in an eerie plane crash exactly one year ago yesterday, has announced that it is suing the owner and operator of the ill-fated Learjet he was flying in when he went down in South Dakota. (The plane lost its cabin pressurization, its entire passenger load lost consciousness, and the aircraft flew on automatic pilot until it ran out of fuel and crashed.) The suit was filed yesterday in Orange County (Fla.) Circuit Court by Stewart's widow, Tracey Stewart, and her children, reports the Associated Press. It seeks an unspecified amount of damages and charges Sunjet Aviation Inc. and Jet Shares One Inc. with negligence. The survivors of others who also died in the tragedy -- Stewart's sport agents, Van Ardan and Robert Fraley, and golf course designer Bruce Borland -- have also reportedly filed similar lawsuits.