Myrtle Beach flight school teacher ignored warnings, caused injury, suit says
A New York resident training to get his pilot’s license in Myrtle Beach suffered severe, permanent injuries when his instructor ignored warnings against flying, the former student alleges.
Steven Schwartz recently filed a lawsuit in Horry County against Leadership in Flight Training Academy (LIFT), LLC, a program for aspiring pilots with several locations, primarily along the East Coast.
Schwartz had been training at the program’s Myrtle Beach location since June 2024 and was scheduled for a training flight with an instructor Feb. 14, 2025 that would depart from Myrtle Beach International Airport and land at Conway-Horry County Airport, according to the complaint.
After consulting with other students who had already flown that day and an aviation weather app, Schwartz discovered rapidly changing winds near the Conway airport, but his instructor ignored those concerns, the lawsuit states.
Schwartz later voiced concerns prior to takeoff about issues with the plane not being “airworthy,” but the instructor “seemed desperate to fly” that day due to poor weather causing several flights to be canceled the previous week, according to the complaint.
During the landing, Schwartz’ instructor lost control of the aircraft and hit the runway hard and crooked, causing the plane to bounce numerous times and leading to the student’s severe injuries, he alleges.
Jon Austin, a spokesman for the LIFT program, declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Schwartz also alleges in his complaint that the Myrtle Beach flight school “operated on a culture of intimidation and fear towards student pilots where complaints related to lack of safety and failure to follow safety protocols was met with diminished flight time, hindering a flight student’s ability to advance.”
