Hendrick lawsuits head to trial

A trial concerning the October 2004 Hendrick Motorsports plane crash is scheduled to begin in January in U.S. District Court in Greensboro, N.C.

The trial involved lawsuits brought by three widows of men killed in the crash, Dianne Dorton, Linda Turner and Tracy Lathram.

At issue is who bears fault for the accident. According to the National Transportation Safety Board and court documents, the crash happened when the pilots overshot the runway and then didn't perform the proper missed-approach procedure. Government officials blame the pilots, while Hendrick and the widows blame, at least in part, the actions of the air-traffic controllers that were also cited in the NTSB report.

Ten people, including team owner Rick Hendrick's brother, son and two nieces, were killed in the plane crash on the way to a Nextel Cup race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Scenedaily.com