News - Google cofounder faces lawsuit over fatal plane crash in Pacific Ocean

Sergey Brin, a cofounder of Google, is facing a wrongful-death lawsuit stemming from a plane crash last year that killed two crew members en route to a private island in the South Pacific, Business Insider reported. The suit, which the pilot's widow, Maria Magdalena Olarte Maclean, filed, alleges that a plane Brin partly owned was improperly fitted with an auxiliary fuel tank for the long flight from California to Hawaii. A fuel-intake problem caused the fatal crash, which led to the death of the pilot, Lance Maclean, and his copilot, Dean Rushfeldt, the suit says. The lawsuit also alleges Brin intentionally delayed the recovery process. Olarte Maclean is seeking damages in excess of $150,000, citing severe emotional distress, and is also asking the court to order the aircraft's recovery. The complaint says that the plane took off from Santa Rosa, California, on May 20, 2023, bound for Fiji via Honolulu. The lawsuit says the pilots, who were the only ones on board, reported an issue with the fuel intake and turned back, declaring an emergency as they ran low on gas. The plane crashed into the sea.