The family of a well-known movie pilot who died in a crash of a Piper Aerostar in Colombia last September is suing a movie studio. Alan Purwin, 54, was a passenger in the aircraft flown by Colombian Carlos Berl on the flight, which occurred just after production of the Tom Cruise thriller Mena wrapped up in the Andes Mountains. Berl also died but passenger Jimmy Garland, of Atlanta, survived. Purwin’s widow Katherine and their children Kyle and Michaela claim Berl was unqualified to act as pilot in command of the flight and claim the movie companies involved should not have allowed him to do the flight. It’s not clear why Berl commanded the flight. Purwin had flown in more than 100 movies, including Die Hard and the Fast and Furious movies.
“Defendants knew that the Accident Aircraft would be flown over rugged, mountainous terrain and in the Republic of Colombia, and yet failed to ensure that Carlos Berl was competent, qualified, rested and sufficiently informed for the flight,” the suit, which was filed Friday, states. The family is also suing Berl’s estate. It was reportedly foggy at the time of the crash. Cruise had left the set by helicopter about 10 minutes before the Aerostar crashed. The movie is about American pilot Barry Seal, who was co-opted into taking part in a CIA operation to capture drug lord Pablo Escobar in Colombia in the 1980s. The operation grew into the Iran Contra affair and Seal was ultimately assassinated by drug cartel conspirators.
