$13.5M Settlement Reached In Army Helicopter Crash
A federal judge has approved the $13.55 million settlement of a product liability lawsuit against Boeing Co. and three companies involved in the manufacturing of a helicopter that crashed in 2003 hurting two soldiers in Iraq.
The suit claimed that the crash was caused by a defective gearbox on an AH-64 Apache Longbow helicopter.
As a result of the crash, Former Chief Warrant Officer Juan Beltran, 34, suffered severe head injuries and lost a finger. Chief Warrant Officer Ron Carnes, also 34, suffered a shattered spine. He can walk, and he continues to serve in the Army, but his movement is restricted, said the attorney for both men.
The Accident and Lawsuit
According to the lawsuit, the gearbox and gearbox bearings were not adequately lubricated and a badly designed accelerometer had failed prematurely, allowing the problem to persist without the pilots receiving warning.
The gearbox failed. As a result, the Longbow plummeted 800 feet and crashed while on a maintenance flight in Tikrit, Iraq.
The lawsuit names as defendants Boeing, who built the helicopter, as well as the three companies that built the bearings, gearbox and accelerometer: MPB Corp., Aircraft Gear Corp., and Honeywell and Chadwick Helmuth respectively.
Boeing declined to comment.
The Settlement
The settlement awards over $11.2 million to Beltran, and about $2.3 million to Carnes as compensation for their injuries, likely including past and future medical expenses and decreased earning potential.