Start with the flight's purpose
Air ambulance, tour, private and work flights can involve different operators and rules. Nolan reviews the actual flight circumstances before choosing a claim approach.
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Clear answers. Personal attention.
Discuss your helicopter accident case directly with Nolan. Review the evidence, coverage and next steps.
Discuss your helicopter injury case. Share a few details below.
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Contacting the firm does not create an attorney–client relationship. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Discuss your helicopter injury case
A helicopter incident can cause devastating injuries and leave families searching for answers about the flight and its operator. Nolan can discuss what happened and the questions that need review, even while formal reports remain incomplete.
Dallas helicopter accident cases
Helicopters fly over Dallas every day: medical flights to trauma centers, news and police aircraft, tours, charters and private flights. When one goes down, the people on board and on the ground can suffer devastating injuries.
Nolan Ryan represents injured passengers and families who have lost someone in a helicopter crash. These cases involve federal aviation rules, several companies and a lot of technical evidence. Nolan handles them personally and starts building the case right away.
Review the operator, flight purpose and available incident records.
About Nolan Ryan McConville, Texas attorney since 2016 · Updated October 2026

Nolan Ryan McConville
Managing attorney
The names in a booking, message and aircraft photo may differ. Keep each name with its source rather than choosing one.
Copy the name on the receipt or confirmation and note who made the booking. Save the original wording.
Use any existing photo or record to note a visible aircraft identifier. Do not guess missing characters or seek access to the aircraft.
List the sender of each flight or incident message. Mark relationships between organizations as unknown unless your records explain them.
Types of flights
Medical helicopters carry patients and crews to hospitals across North Texas, often at night and in poor weather.
Paying passengers on sightseeing, event and business flights.
Personal and corporate helicopters flown by their owners or by hired pilots.
News, pipeline patrol, utility and construction support flights, where crew members can also be hurt.
For families
Texas personal-injury lawsuits generally have two years from injury, and wrongful-death lawsuits generally have two years from death. Exceptions apply. Helicopter cases can involve federal law, out-of-state companies and government entities, and each can bring different rules or shorter notice requirements. Don't assume you have two years.
Questions about a deadline? Call Nolan at (214) 706-4031
From day one
Nolan works to preserve flight records and the wreckage before anything is released or altered.
01Review step
He asks the operator, owner, maintenance providers and insurers for flight records, maintenance logs, pilot training files, dispatch and weather records, and any onboard data or video.
02Review step
Wreckage is often held for inspection. He works to make sure it isn't released or altered before independent consultants can examine it.
03Review step
He identifies every policy that may apply, including aircraft liability coverage and any coverage held by a hospital system or charter broker.
04Review step
In place of a crash report, he gets the NTSB preliminary report and any police or incident reports as they're released.
05Review step
He gathers your records carefully, because burn, spinal and head injuries from these crashes often need long-term care.
The sequence and timing depend on your case, engagement and the records available.
The rules
The FAA's rules depend on the kind of flight. That can affect which rules the operator had to follow and which records should exist.
Many charter, air tour and air ambulance operators that carry people for hire must hold a Part 135 certificate, with stricter requirements for pilots, training, maintenance and operations. Some sightseeing tours operate under Part 91 with Part 136 air-tour requirements instead.
Private flights generally operate under Part 91; some commercial sightseeing flights do too.
Tell Nolan why you were on the flight and who arranged it. Keep any booking confirmation or operator correspondence with those details.
He looks at the operator's certificate, its manuals, and its training and maintenance records to see whether the rules were followed.
Responsibility
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigates civil helicopter accidents. Its goal is safety, not compensation, so your own investigation should run alongside it.
The NTSB's preliminary report usually comes out long before the final one.
The operator and the pilot are the obvious ones. A maintenance provider may have missed a problem or done a repair wrong.
The maker of the helicopter, its engine or a component may be involved if a part failed. Each company usually has its own insurer and defense team.
One company may run the helicopter under a hospital contract, with pilots and medical crew employed by different companies. Sorting out those contracts early helps find every responsible party and policy.
Responsibility may fall on more than one company.
Related cases
Free consultation
There is no cost to talk with Nolan, and no attorney's fee unless money is recovered.
Share the flight date, location and operator, if known. Was it medical, tour, charter or private? Missing records should not delay contact.
Ask what can be reviewed from the information already available and which company connection remains unclear. Families can distinguish what they personally know from questions they hope the investigation will answer.
Your written fee agreement also explains how case expenses are handled.
Your case, handled personally
Air ambulance, tour, private and work flights can involve different operators and rules. Nolan reviews the actual flight circumstances before choosing a claim approach.
Part 91 and Part 135 distinctions can matter, but the operator and actual flight determine the analysis. Nolan reviews those facts instead of assuming a category.
Maintenance and operational information may help explain a helicopter incident. Nolan requests relevant records and considers them alongside the available investigation information and witness accounts.
Nolan reviews the roles of the operator and other potentially responsible parties in the incident rather than assuming the pilot alone explains what happened.
Nolan considers medical records alongside the incident evidence and potential sources of recovery, so the injury claim is not separated from the investigation questions.
Recent Victories
Case results are gross settlement amounts from past Nolan Ryan Law cases and depend on the facts of each case. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
$10 Million
Major 18 Wheeler Accident Settlement
$12 Million
Construction Accident and Wrongful Death Settlement
$1.5 Million
Motor Vehicle Accident Settlement
$1,150,000
Motor Vehicle Accident Settlement
Pre-suit Offer: $0
$775,000
Motor Vehicle Accident Settlement
$2,100,000
Motorcycle Accident Settlement
Pre-suit Offer: $0
If you’ve been injured due to someone else’s negligence, you need a team that acts fast and fights hard. Nolan Ryan Law has a strong record of securing significant settlements and verdicts for injured Texans.
We pursue the full compensation you deserve so you can focus on healing while we handle the fight.
Talk with Nolan Ryan Law about the incident, the records available and your questions. The consultation is free. Fees and case expenses are explained in a written agreement.
Share the city, what happened and your contact details for follow-up. Start with the information you have.
Testimonials
FAQs
The NTSB investigates civil helicopter accidents, and the FAA's rules govern the pilots, aircraft and operators. The NTSB usually issues a preliminary report early and a final report much later. Its purpose is safety, so an injured person or family still needs a separate investigation of the claim.
Yes. Many commercial charter, tour and air ambulance operators must hold a Part 135 certificate and meet stricter rules for pilots, training and maintenance. Private flights generally operate under Part 91; some commercial sightseeing tours do too, with Part 136 air-tour requirements. The type of flight affects which rules applied and which records should exist.
Possibly. If the helicopter, its engine or a component failed, the company that designed or made it may share responsibility. Showing that usually requires inspecting the wreckage and reviewing the maintenance history.
A mechanic or repair station that missed a problem or did work incorrectly may be responsible. Maintenance logs and FAA records can show who worked on the aircraft and when, which is why Nolan asks for them early.
Patients and families may have claims against the operator and others, depending on the facts. These cases can involve hospital contracts and federal rules, so the responsible companies aren't always obvious at first.
People on the ground can bring claims too. The investigation is the same: what caused the crash, and who was responsible for the flight and the aircraft.
No. The final report can take a long time, and deadlines keep running. Wreckage, maintenance records and witness memories are easier to secure early.
It may, sometimes quickly and sometimes with an offer. Be careful about giving a recorded statement or signing a release before you understand your claim and everyone who may be responsible.