Google's Sergey Brin settles with family of pilot killed in plane crash

Business Standard

13-05-2025

A settlement has been reached in the lawsuit over the deadly crash of a plane owned by Google co-founder Sergey Brin. In May 2023, pilots Dean Rushfeldt and Lance Maclean died when the twin-engine seaplane crashed off the California coast. The aircraft was en route from Santa Rosa to Brin's private island in Fiji. Rushfeldt's family filed a lawsuit in July, alleging the crash was caused by defective fuel equipment.
On May 20, 2023, the Viking Air Ltd DHC-6 Twin Otter Series 400 aircraft crashed while attempting to return to Half Moon Bay. According to court documents filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court on May 9, the settlement is pending the exchange of closing documents and disbursement of the settlement fund. The parties expect the process to be finalised in about 60 days.
What did the lawsuit claim?
Rushfeldt's family sued Brin, his private family office Bayshore Global, and several affiliated entities, accusing them of negligence that led to the crash. Google, initially named as a defendant, was removed from the case in February following a request by the plaintiffs and was also included in the settlement.
A second lawsuit
Maggie Olarte Maclean, widow of Lance Maclean, also filed a lawsuit, accusing Brin and others of obstructing her efforts to recover her husband's body. Maclean, a former Navy pilot with global experience, had served as one of Brin's pilots for years.
Her lawsuit alleged the plane was outfitted with an 'unauthorised and illegally installed auxiliary fuel system' that malfunctioned mid-flight, rendering the fuel inaccessible. She claimed Brin and his agents chose to leave Maclean's body at the crash site, along with evidence that could implicate them in the crash.
In November, the parties said they were negotiating to resolve the matter, but it remains unclear if an agreement was reached.
Born in Moscow and later emigrating to the US, Brin co-founded Google with Larry Page in 1998 while at Stanford. He played a pivotal role in developing the PageRank algorithm and spearheaded ambitious projects at Google X, such as self-driving cars and augmented reality technologies.