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Families sue Seahawk maker in fatal crash

SAN DIEGO — Family members of four Navy personnel who were killed in a helicopter crash two years ago are suing the helo’s manufacturer for wrongful death, according to an attorney for the families.

Navy investigators were unable to explain why the MH-60S Seahawk — one of the Navy’s newest helicopters — crashed in the Pacific Ocean on Jan. 26, 2007, while the crew was conducting plane guard duties.

The families of three of the four personnel filed suit Jan. 23 in Los Angeles Superior Court, accusing the helicopter’s maker and parts manufacturers of wrongful death, negligence, failure to warn, breach of warranty, survival action and strict product liability that they claim led to the crash. The suit does not ask for a specific dollar amount.

The suit was filed on behalf of survivors of pilot Lt. Andrew A. Dyer, 26; Aviation Warfare Systems Operator 1st Class Cory J. Helman, 27; and AW2 Christopher M. Will, 29.

The family of co-pilot Lt. j.g. Laura J. Mankey, 26, is not part of the lawsuit.

All of the crew members were members of the Naval Station North Island, Calif.-based Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 23.

The families filed the complaint against Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., which makes the H-60 helicopters, along with six other companies that manufacture various parts of the helicopter: Alcoa Global Fasteners, Pacific Scientific, Hi-Shear Corp., Sikorsky Support Services Inc., Parker-Hannifin Corp., and General Electric Corp.

“Our policy is not to comment on litigation,” said Paul Jackson, a Sikorsky spokesman at corporate headquarters in Connecticut.

The nine-month Judge Advocate General Manual investigation left officials at a loss as to what caused the MH-60S to drop 1,000 feet into the ocean.

“JAGMAN investigators were unable to conclusively determine a specific cause for the mishap, unable to find fault, finding no culpability, no sign of neglect on the part of the aircrew nor the personnel responsible for maintaining the aircraft,” the lead investigator wrote in the Aug. 16, 2007, report submitted to Expeditionary Strike Group 3 in San Diego.

But several of the families aren’t so sure of that. They said they suspect that something happened with the tail rotor system that sent the helicopter into an uncontrollable situation.

‘Why did it happen?’

The suit alleges that “all of the defendants’ actions herein were reckless, willful, oppressive, malicious and done with reckless and wanton disregard for the rights and safety ... with knowledge of defects at issue, and in conscious disregard of the safety hazards raised by those defects.”

Michael Danko, the families’ lead attorney the families hope to get a jury trial and get a judge’s order to allow them to get their own aviation experts to evaluate the wreckage and look further into possible causes of the crash.

This was the first fatal helicopter crash involving the MH-60S. Another MH-60S crashed in Guam several months later, on Sept. 24, 2007, killing one of the four crew members aboard.

The helicopter took off from the deck of amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard just after lunchtime on a plane guard mission for Marine Corps helicopters. Minutes into the flight, radios screeched with the helicopter’s Electronic Locator Transmitter alarm. Then came the crew’s call: “Mayday, mayday, mayday.”

The helicopter fell into the ocean, hitting with its tail down, about 16 miles off San Clemente Island.

The lead investigator surmised that Dyer might have been dealing with “a possible loss of tail rotor drive or procedures for an emergency landing (ditching) of the aircraft,” according to the investigation. But two other officers who reviewed his report weren’t so sure, although no details were provided as to why they dismissed that theory.

“We will be looking very closely at that,” he said of the rotor drive, noting that the helicopter’s spinning actions before it hit the water could signify loss of tail rotor control.

The helicopters don’t have onboard flight data recorders, although a Defense Department program is retrofitting some aircraft with the devices as part of a broader upgrade in sensors and equipment.