Summary: Animated Reconstruction of the Crash
Courtroom Animation was requested to provide an aviation accident reconstruction animation on behalf of the defense in this civil case.
The aviation accident took place at a small Florida airport with two intersecting runways. Surveillance footage taken from a single airport camera shows how two aircraft left the runway at the same time. One pilot performed a last second evasive maneuver to avoid striking the other airplane, however could not regain control, and perished in the crash.
The aviation animation helped Michael Siboni, a defense attorney at Siboni & Buchannon PLLC, and Juan Serrano of Griffin and Serrano, win a successful verdict.
Challenge:
In this case, the surveillance footage did not provide a clear explanation of what occurred. The substandard video from the airport gave a very limited perspective of the events. Taken from a long distance away and of very low fidelity, the surveillance camera was able to catch the crash in action however the distance, speed, and the proximity of the planes was extremely ambiguous.
The aviation accident had many complex parts for the jury to understand. The pilots’ viewpoints, the configuration of the runways, and the proximity of the planes before and during takeoff were important to clarify so that liability could be accurately evaluated. It was critical for Michael Siboni and his team to visually represent all of these variables for his clients, the deceased pilot and the airport itself.
Solution: Persuasive Aviation Animation & Data Analysis
The Courtroom Animation team focused on using the surveillance footage provided to accurately re-create the airport’s environment. To guide the jury through the full crash and explain it clearly, our team used accurate 3D models to recreate the event.
To do this, our team referenced architectural blueprints and satellite data to ensure the legal animation was precise, and therefore admissible.
In addition to the legal animation featured above, our team used video analysis to recreate different perspectives for the defense. These court animations allowed the jury to experience the pilot’s situation and gain a better understanding of the plane crash.
“We reached out to Courtroom Animation to help us in achieving our visualization goals for an aviation accident that occurred in Florida. Leveraging surveillance footage from a single camera near the airport, we were able to recreate the entire incident. The most powerful perspective we used in the trial was that of my client – a pilot’s point of view showing the evasive maneuver to avoid an oncoming aircraft. I’m proud of the successful verdict we reached for my client and the team at Courtroom Animation in providing their indispensable expertise to this difficult case.”
– Michael Siboni, Attorney at Siboni & Buchannon, PLLC
The powerful, 3D computer-generated viewpoint helped the jury understand how little time the pilot had to react. It put the client’s evasive maneuver reaction into perspective and helped the jury evaluate liability. This would have been hard to visualize if the defense attorney had only presented the low-quality surveillance footage.
Seeing the aviation crash from multiple vantage points further supported the defense attorney’s argument that the pilot made a quick decision to evade the oncoming plane. Seeing his maneuver and eventual crash up close evoked sympathy in the viewers. They experienced the precious little time the pilot had to decide what to do.
Results:
The aviation animation and legal graphics provided by our team accentuated and supported the core argument of the defense attorney, ultimately resulting in a successful verdict.
Courtroom Animation’s team of visual strategists, animators and developers can build and customize your trial presentation for any case involving personal injury, medical malpractice, vehicle accident reconstruction, or any complex subject.