Lawsuit claims Tom Cruise ‘partially to blame’ for two deaths during filming of ‘American Made’

A lawsuit filed back in April, 2016, claims that actor Tom Cruise and the director of Cruise’s 2017 biographical crime film release “American Made,” were both “partially to blame” for the deaths of two of the film’s airplane pilots.  The deaths were attributed to a plane crash on the set that was deemed overly risky according to the suit. The suit was brought by the families of the two pilots who died in the crash during filming in Colombia in 2015, according to People.  “The demands of filming in Colombia, together with Cruise’s and director Doug Liman’s enthusiasm for multiple takes of lavish flying sequences, added hours to every filming day and added days to the schedule,” according to court papers.

Pilots Alan Purwin and Carl Berl died in that crash.  A third pilot, Jimmy Lee Garland, survived but was left without any feeling in his lower extremities.  Purwin and  Berl’s families claim in the suit that the extraordinary flying demands by Cruise and director Doug Liman are partially to blame for the plane crash and resulting pilot deaths.  During filming, Purwin even wrote to one of the film’s producers that “American Made” was the “most dangerous project” he’d ever worked on, according to a quote from Wonderwall. The suit also states that the producer went as far as to contact the insurance company concerning the unusual risks pilots were taking during filming.  Quotes taken from court documents and shared by People include:

“DL [Director Liman] and TC [Cruise] [are] adding entire scenes and aerial shots on the fly. Had to bring in Uni Safety to help wrangle them. In the last 48 hours this has become the most insane s— I’ve ever dealt with.”

In a separate email, Purwin called the film “the most dangerous project I’ve ever encountered. You have no idea the exposure TC and the entire Aerial Team is realizing every time we get in the air. There’s a very ‘thin line’ between keeping all aerial activities safe and having an accident. Trust me on this!”

Although the lawsuit claims that Cruise and Liman are partially to blame for the deaths of the two pilots, neither Cruise nor Liman are named as defendants in the suit.  Named as defendants in the lawsuit are the producers of “American Made.”  Imagine Entertainment, Vendian Entertainment and Cross Creek Pictures are being sued for damages and wrongful death.  The plane that crashed was a twin-engine Piper Smith Aerostar 600, according to The Daily Mail.  The plane went down in the Andes Mountains near Medellin, Colombia, in foggy conditions.

https://youtu.be/FqOIp03gvVo

Written by:  Ace News Today Staff