Left inset: Tanya Hendry (Dignity Memorial). Right inset: Jonathan Spano (Instagram/@trafficmanagementinc). Background: The California cliff that Tanya Hendry plummeted off of while allegedly riding in an ATV at Jonathan Spano’s “Burning Man”-style party (San Luis Obispo County).
A stunt pilot from California, who contributed to the 2022 film “Top Gun: Maverick,” has settled a lawsuit filed by the family of a woman who died during a gathering he hosted. The tragic incident involved the woman falling off a seaside cliff in an ATV. The pilot faced allegations of supplying the vehicle’s driver with drugs and alcohol.
The victim, 34-year-old Tanya Hendry, met a tragic end in December 2020, after she and driver Maria Arayza-Alvarez plunged from a cliff in San Luis Obispo County. The family had already reached a previous settlement with Arayza-Alvarez, who was included in the 2022 lawsuit.
Arayza-Alvarez faced charges of DUI resulting in injury or death and gross vehicular manslaughter. Her conviction resulted in a four-month jail sentence, as reported by the San Luis Obispo Tribune.
The lawsuit claimed that Jonathan Spano, who hosted the party, and Harmony Bluffs LLC, which owned the venue, were responsible for providing intoxicants to Arayza-Alvarez. This allegedly led to her reckless driving, culminating in the fatal cliff accident.
The family’s legal filing described the event as an attempt to recreate the Burning Man Festival amid the COVID-19 pandemic. They accused the defendants of allowing guests under the influence to operate a high-performance Can Am vehicle, despite knowing the risks involved, especially given the proximity to a dangerous cliff.
The lawsuit further alleged the defendants’ collective contribution to the tragic sequence of events, providing the venue, vehicle, and permission for its use by an inebriated and inexperienced driver, thus facilitating the deadly accident.
In addition to these “unreasonable and reckless choices,” Hendry’s family accused Spano — who describes himself online as a “helicopter and jet film stunt pilot” — and Harmony Bluffs of failing to provide “warnings or guard” against the “known dangerous condition of the sheer cliff,” thereby contributing to her driving off of it, according to the complaint.
“These decisions culminated in the Can Am driving off the cliff, killing one of its occupants [Hendry] who died a horrific and excruciating death by drowning in the ensuing minutes,” the complaint said.
The terms of Spano’s settlement agreement are confidential. His lawyers did not respond to Law&Crime’s requests for comment, nor did Arayza-Alvarez’s lawyers.
“In life, we all make mistakes,” the Hendry family’s attorney, Nicholas Rowley, told The Tribune.
“What defines us is what we do with our mistakes and whether or not we accept responsibility and how and when we accept responsibility,” he said. “I see this as the defense accepting responsibility, and that’s all the family wanted.”
