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Lawsuit: Flying school failed to fill tank of plane involved in fatal crash

JASPER, Ga. — A lawsuit filed Friday blames the death of a young pilot on the flight school that allegedly gave him a plane to fly with nearly empty fuel tanks.

The crash happened last year outside the Jasper Airport, killing

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The young man's father talked to Channel 2’s Ross Cavitt about why he was compelled to file suit.

"If time heals all wounds, then time has stood still,” Michael Hughes said.

Hughes told Cavitt he still thinks about the call he received that October day that his son's plane had crashed near the Jasper airport, killing Joseph instantly.

“It is fresh and raw to me today, the moment I found out," Hughes said.

Hughes said his son loved flying and wanted to make that his career. A lawsuit filed by lawyers hired by the family says the young man was on his second solo flight.

"He was excited and ready to take those first steps," Hughes said.

Joe Hughes' Piper crashed after a touch-and-go at the Jasper Airport.

A National Transportation Safety Board investigation found the Piper had only a tiny amount of fuel in its tanks, had last been fueled three days prior and had been flown nearly five hours since that time.

A lawsuit filed by Hughes' family targets Cobb-based Asterix Aviation and its parent company, Phobio LLC, for negligence by failing to provide Joe Hughes with an aircraft that was safe to fly.

The suit seeks damages for medical bills, burial expenses and an unspecified amount for the loss of the young man's life and the family's pain and suffering.

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For Michael Hughes there's more.

"That no other family gets the kind of news that I got, that when this is done, everybody's family member will come home," Hughes said.

Asterix Aviation had offices at the Cobb County Airport, but they've since closed.

Cavitt went to the corporate offices of Phobio LLC nearby and staff members there told him they were unaware a lawsuit had been filed and would have no comment.