Court says FAA can't be held liable in crash that killed Collins

An appeals court says the Federal Aviation Administration can't be held financially responsible for the collision of two small planes that killed a popular Chicago radio personality nearly 10 years ago.

The 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued the ruling Friday upholding a federal judge's decision in a lawsuit filed by Bob Collins' family.

The family blames the crash on mistakes by an air traffic controller and a lack of radar.

The appeals court says the FAA could be found to be at fault for the crash but federal immunity protects the agency from legal action.

The collision in 2000 also killed Collins' only passenger and the student pilot flying the other plane in a suburb north of Chicago.