Ex-Wife of Michael Klein Sues Over Panama Plane Crash

Sounds like a golddigger to me. Michael and Talia Klein sound like class act people to me. Kim,quit gold digging to get your money. Your loss should be more important than the money. You make me sick.

Kim Klein should just shut up and get a job instead of digging in the estate of a dead man for her income. These suit-happy freaks are just disgusting.

<devils-advocate>Yeah, well she was married to him. If you've ever been married, you would realize that people can be different, from what their friends see of them.</devils-advocate>

In this world, you get what you can.

When did they divorce? Didn't Kim Klein already get half of his money, or was it prior to the big $450 million sale of eGroups Inc. to Yahoo? It's a tragic loss but I don't think a lawsuit is the best way to grieve.

Kim Klein lost more than any other survivor the day that plane crashed, and while no amount of money will bring her little girl back, I think it's terrible to call her a "gold-digger." There are hundreds of millions of dollars in Michael Klein's estate, most of which Michael and Kim's daughter Talia was probably heir to. Of course Kim should be compensated for the loss of Talia -- it's crazy to think otherwise. That poor woman ...

Klein lost her daughter due to the negligence of her ex-husband, whose first priority should have been the safety of the two little girls! His stupidity for flying in those conditions should have been painful only for him, and no one else! Gold digger my hind end...cal23 and Holly need a reality check.

cal, holly, ttm: You should be ashamed of yourselves. This could not be any clearer. This was a tragedy of the very worst sort. A tragedy however, that could have and absolutely SHOULD have been avoided. It was not avoided because of negligent decisions and reckless actions on the part of Michael Klein. As a result, Talia Klein, an innocent girl was lost forever, and her mother must live on without her. This is the essence of liability if ever such a case existed. Beyond that, Kim Klein is the most generous, compassionate woman and the most adoring mother I have ever had the honor of knowing. How dare you sit back behind your keyboards and attack a woman who's tremendous, unfathomable loss you could not begin to imagine!? You make me sick!

These people are obviously from the husband's family or some of his employees, since they seem to want to attack the mother instead of arguing any real points. First of all, from all accounts of what I have read since the plane went missing and was then found over the holidays last year, NO ONE should have been flying, let alone in that plane, in that area, and with children. If the guy wants to put his own life at risk, so be it, but he has no right to put the life of his daughter and her friend at risk. And look, his actions killed his daughter and nearly killed her friend. Yes he died, but he is an adult. He killed this mother's only child. No one should have to go through what this mother has gone through and has to live with every day of the rest of her life. There are accidents, and there are totally preventable acts, and this was 100% preventable, and due to this guys total disregard for the safety of his daughter she is dead. I say the mom has every right, legally and morally, to file this lawsuit.

I think it's extremely unfair to form opinions and draw conclusions without having all the facts. My guess is that there is a lot more to this story than any of us are privilege to. Also,to judge Kim or anyone else in this tragedy is not only ignorant,it's completely arrogant. I can't imagine the nightmare that all of these families have gone through. My heart goes out to them.

It is so obvious that Michael Klein's family and friends wrote the first few comments. You are all such creeps! Anyone who saw that poor grieving Kim Klein on TV knows that she is a good woman and was utterly devastated by Michael's stupid decision which killed her daughter. If I was on that jury, I would give her all that she asked for and more!

Had Michael Klein survived this tragedy he’d be under indictment right now for 2 counts of Negligent Homicide (2nd Degree Murder) for the deaths of his daughter and the pilot and 1 count of Reckless Criminal Endangerment involving the lone survivor, Francesca. It’s monumentally difficult for any parent to lose a child, but to have your child killed by the other parent must be ten-fold. Michael Klein’s decisions that day were apparently made without any thought towards the safely of anyone, more so just his own desires to take photos. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I can only imaging the loss of a child at the hands of her father must be worth 10,000 sleepless nights for her mother. Kim Klein shouldn’t have to be suing; Dr. Robert Klein should be taking care of Kim most generously through the estate of his negligently criminal son who’s solely responsible for the death of Kim’s daughter, Talia.

It is certainly easy to make assumptions about a person's intentions without knowing the why or how of that person's final decision to take action legally. Why is Kim Klein being castigated for a horrific accident that should have been addressed confidentially between the families involved as soon as was feasible?
Michael Klein was a wealthy man and his father could easily have compensated Kim without it becoming media gossip. The headline itself intimates that Kim is just out for money by the label, "ex-wife" which has a negative connotation. I wonder if people would have been less vindictive if the headline read, "Mother of Talia Klein Sues Over Panama Plane Crash".
The loss of a child is a pain that is interminable. The entire Klein estate would not even come close to compensating Kim for these last seven months of anguish she has endured, yet she should be compensated. That fact does not make her a gold digger.
I find it interesting that there isn't any negative comments about the Lewis family and they are also proceeding with a law suit while their daughter actually survived. Are they also to be labeled "gold diggers"?
Michael Klein is obviously an intelligent man having graduated college at the age of 17. Unfortunately, he made a careless decision that December day and his family needs to step up to the plate and do the rightr thing.

klein was not the captain that day, he was a paying customer and a passenger, sitting right seat. edwin lassos was the captain, and all decisions about weather and course changes were his alone to make. captains are ultimately responsible for their flights, not passengers. so why sue klein and not the charter company? is it because the charter company has no money? or did ms. klein and the lewis family not give permission ? it they did give permission, then it seems to me that kleins' only negligence that day was his being the richest person on board.

Everyone is quick to judgement about kim klein's decision, the mother of Talia who lost a child in a situation that did not have to happen. Talia and her friend Frankie should never have been exposed to Michael's decision to fly in terrible weather that day. Furthermore if the Klein patriarch refuses to talk with Kim without the prescence of lawyers than she doesn't have much choice now does she. She has to use the legal system which is designed to not only bring justice but to facilitate communication where there is none. I think everyone should hold off on judging Kim until the facts are out. The bottom line is Michael was the adult and should have had the girl's safety as his number one priority that day. The weather would have given commercial pilots pause that day certainly not appropriate for Michael or the young charter pilot to take up a small plane in foul weather. Kim devoted her life to Talia. Once the facts are out, I believe there will be more support for a mother who lost her only child in an accident that didn't need to happen.

Just "for the record" there is a new participant here using "sbireader" not me and please be original, it is not that difficult and despite the annonimity, we do develop our own voices. I do not agree at all with what "sbireader" says in this post. I find it weird and disgusting that a single mother with no other children suggests that money from an ex-husband's estate is justified compensation for a tragedy that affected all involved. Michael Klein was one of the most brilliant men of his generation, loved life and especially his daughter, and it is clear none of the idiots with negative comments here knew him.

It’s clear that you, sbreader, didn’t really know the real Mr Klein. It is also clear you are one of his coat tailers, or on his payroll in some capacity. Anyone who ever really knew Mr Klein in any capacity other than getting paid by him knows all the well that he was a reckless, arrogant and manipulative man, who cared about only himself. He might have loved his daughter, but he did not have the right to put her life as well as her friends at jeopardy. It was his arrogance, and gross negligence that killed his daughter, who happen to be someone else’s daughter too. If you were in Mrs. Klein’s shoes I am sure you would do the same. You don’t know what it is like to deal with a situation until you are in it, and, you don’t know the real Mr Klein, or the real Kleins who represent him, unless you are in fact one of them, nor do you deserve to know the real Talia or her mother.

weather that day was fine at sea level. all airports open, plenty of vis, no rain or fog. but panama never has stable weather, and at that time of the year the weather is changing from wet season to dry season. as they made for their destination in volcan, which is about 3500' above sea level, weather started to spill over the mountains from the caribbean side of the country. these transitional "northers" come quickly and vary wildly in strength and duration. edwin lassos did not fly up there that day knowing that things would be as bad as they were, and neither did m. klein. his decision to charter that day from islas secas would have seemed nothing out of the ordinary---they flew over the ocean, the airport in david, in relatively clear, normal skies with the usual heat, humidity, and low wind--i know that because i live in david and was there that day. what transpired further on in the mountains was a horrible tragedy for everyone.
let these families work it out however they have to. calling them names is crass and disrespectful. they ALL lost far too much that day.

Sendit-- If everyone that "really knew" Michael Klein includes Kim Klein and the Lewis family, then they would have known him to be this reckless, arrogant, manipulative person that you describe. This doesn't sound like the kind of guy I would have sent my kids to Panama with. And I imagine that the Lewis' and Kim Klein wouldn't have either.

The poster who commented that a better, less enflamatory title for this article would have been, "Mother of Talia Klein Sues Over Panama Plane Crash" is absolutely right. The last person in all of this who deserves to be vilified is Kim Klein.
Though I don't know Kim, I've seen her at horse shows with Talia and was ALWAYS struck by what "two peas in a pod" they were : frick and frack. Where there was one, there was the other; obviously extremely closely bound. It breaks my heart to think of the devastation Kim has been living with since the accident. I'm sorry to know that the Klein family has had a hand in making a difficult time even worse; there's just no reason for it.

It is very important to have all of the facts before you judge anyone! In-less you are part of this hell the Klein's and their loved ones are going through you might not want to pass judgement. Kim Klein is not the only one suing the estate of Michael Klein. The Lewis family is suing as well and their daughter survived! I don't see anyone making nasty comments about them. Any of you who are parents try just for one minute to think of loosing your child to an accident that most likely could have been prevented. Then ask yourself what you would do. Kim Klein has not only lost her only child she has also lost herself and her meaning to be on this planet! Can you put a price on that? I certainly could not. What parent wouldn't give anything to protect and keep their child safe. I am sure Kim would do ANYTHING if she could turn back time and have Talia returned to her. The months to come will hopefully reveal some very important facts and my prayer is that Justice will be served.

Weather may have been clear @ sea level but do you think it was without risk flying into volcano for pictures??

As far as 'sbreader' is concerned, Kim is not pursuing litigation as compensation for the loss of her precious and amazing daughter-nothing can compensate or replace Talia. Do you actually believe having other children would have made this loss less pofoundly painful? ("...a single mother with no other children..."). Yes, it ("the tragedy") affected more than Kim and as stated several times, the Lewis family is also going forward with a law suit. Are they "weird and disgusting"?
If this occurred in your life and the family turned their back on you, how would you proceed? Try to walk a mile in someone else's shoes. Your criticism of Kim is unwarranted and sounds personal.