Families reach plane-crash settlement with ALCS

Dec. 11--SILVER CITY -- The families of three students at Aldo Leopold Charter School who died in a small aircraft accident in 2014, have reached a financial settlement with the charter school concerning its role in the accident.

The three students -- Ella Kirk, 14; Michael Mahl, 16; and Ella Myers, 16 -- had been flying over the Signal Peak burn area in the Gila National Forest as part of their ecological monitoring internships at ALCS when the pilot of the single-engine plane they were riding in overshot Whiskey Creek Airport in Arenas Valley, outside Silver City. The three sophomores and pilot died in the crash, in an empty field just west of the Vans Mobile Home Park.

National Transportation Safety Board reports and eye witness accounts confirmed that the pilot, Peter Hochla, an Albuquerque-based psychiatrist, took off during unstable weather conditions from Whiskey Creek Airport in Grant County, then failed to properly execute a landing, resulting in the fatal crash. The report said the pilot lacked the capability to land the high performance plane in a cross wind.

The terms of the agreement will include an assessment of the safety practices at the school, educating staff and faculty about the school's role in the incident, and public acknowledgement.

"There will be an information session where my clients and myself will provide information to the (ALCS) faculty and staff and the governing council," said Bill Davis of the Davis Law Firm, which managed the settlement. "There is a lot of misinformation about what happened and how it happened."

Davis said much misinformation stemmed from Aldo Leopold Charter School claiming it did not sponsor the event.

"The school said it was not a school trip," Davis said. "But it was a teacher at the school who located the pilot and put the kids on the plane. ... He did tell some at the school about the trip, but not the principal. He did not follow proper channels, including vetting the pilot. They should have had a chartered flight with an experienced pilot."

Davis said the teacher will receive a letter of reprimand.

Another step in the settlement will be for the school to apologize for its role in the accident.

"It's drafted but we don't have the official one yet," Davis said of the apology. "It has to be approved by the Government Council, which is like the school board for Aldo Leopold. And it is a public acceptance of responsibility. We'll have that in a couple of weeks."

The apology was also something the parents had requested.

"Our objective has always been to help the school understand the chain of events leading up to this terrible tragedy," said Patrice Mutchnick, Ella Kirk's mother in a statement. "Where were the checks and balances that should have prevented the teacher putting the children on a plane with a non-commercial pilot in such bad weather? We hoped the school could take responsibility for their actions leading up to the crash, so they could learn from their mistakes and take steps to make sure this kind of thing never happens again."

The settlement also included a financial aspect, as the families received the maximum amount allowed by the state -- $750,000. There also was a separate settlement from the pilot's insurance company. That amount remains private, Davis said.

"All three of the kids were very driven," said John and Jenny Mahl, parents of Michael Mahl. "These three kids were rock stars; the amount of talent that they all had, music-wise, scholastically. It's a horrific way that those kids died, but they lived life. They left an impact."

According to school officials, all three of the teenagers were eco-monitors for the school.

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