Classic Helicopters Sued In 2007 Crash
10-20-2009, 04:47 AM
#1
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Classic Helicopters Sued In 2007 Crash
Since there is no Helicopter Forum, I thought this could be the appropriate place for this thread.
From Seattle Times:
COURTESY OF THE LEE FAMILY
Helicopter-crash victim Si Young Lee, right; his wife, Boo Sool Park; and one of their children, Sung Ho Lee.
The estate of a South Korean businessman killed in a 2007 helicopter crash near Easton, Kittitas County, has filed a wrongful-death suit against the California manufacturer of the helicopter and a Seattle company that operated the aircraft.
The suit, filed Sept. 29 in King County Superior Court, alleges that the helicopter's fuel system and tail rotor system were unsafe, causing the death of Si Young Lee, 45, the president of a South Korean furniture company who was visiting Washington to inspect export-grade timber.
Three other people, including the pilot, also were killed and the crash sparked a 485-acre wildfire.
A spokeswoman for Robinson Helicopter, the Torrance, Calif., manufacturer of the R44 II helicopter that crashed, declined to comment, saying the company doesn't discuss pending litigation.
Classic Helicopter, the operator of the helicopter, declined to comment on allegations that it knew or should have known about the purported defects.
The crash occurred on Aug. 2, 2007, after Lee, his business partner, Hyun Song, and Robert Hagerman, 64, an Everett timber broker, flew in the helicopter over the Cascades to a logging site. The helicopter was flown from Boeing Field in Seattle by Keiko Minakata, 41, Classic's chief flight instructor.
Minutes after the helicopter left the logging site for a return trip, it crashed and burst into flames.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found last year that the crash resulted from pilot error. The pilot, flying downhill, attempted a "downwind takeoff" in high-density altitude conditions, the safety board concluded, noting that the craft's operation at 77 pounds over the limit for existing conditions and a gusty tail wind were contributing factors.
A witness told the NTSB that the helicopter went up about 40 feet and, after it traveled 100 to 150 feet, began to wobble and sway with an unusual sound. The craft flew another 100 to 150 feet and was "wobbling" before it hit the ground as the wind was blowing downhill, the witness reported.
The NTSB report didn't cite defects with the helicopter.
The lawsuit alleges the helicopter experienced a mechanical failure and hit the ground at low speed.
All aboard "actually survived the crash," but a design flaw caused the fatal fire, according to a news release issued by the Los Angeles law firm representing Lee's wife, his daughter and son and his parents.
From Seattle Times:
COURTESY OF THE LEE FAMILYHelicopter-crash victim Si Young Lee, right; his wife, Boo Sool Park; and one of their children, Sung Ho Lee.
The estate of a South Korean businessman killed in a 2007 helicopter crash near Easton, Kittitas County, has filed a wrongful-death suit against the California manufacturer of the helicopter and a Seattle company that operated the aircraft.
The suit, filed Sept. 29 in King County Superior Court, alleges that the helicopter's fuel system and tail rotor system were unsafe, causing the death of Si Young Lee, 45, the president of a South Korean furniture company who was visiting Washington to inspect export-grade timber.
Three other people, including the pilot, also were killed and the crash sparked a 485-acre wildfire.
A spokeswoman for Robinson Helicopter, the Torrance, Calif., manufacturer of the R44 II helicopter that crashed, declined to comment, saying the company doesn't discuss pending litigation.
Classic Helicopter, the operator of the helicopter, declined to comment on allegations that it knew or should have known about the purported defects.
The crash occurred on Aug. 2, 2007, after Lee, his business partner, Hyun Song, and Robert Hagerman, 64, an Everett timber broker, flew in the helicopter over the Cascades to a logging site. The helicopter was flown from Boeing Field in Seattle by Keiko Minakata, 41, Classic's chief flight instructor.
Minutes after the helicopter left the logging site for a return trip, it crashed and burst into flames.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found last year that the crash resulted from pilot error. The pilot, flying downhill, attempted a "downwind takeoff" in high-density altitude conditions, the safety board concluded, noting that the craft's operation at 77 pounds over the limit for existing conditions and a gusty tail wind were contributing factors.
A witness told the NTSB that the helicopter went up about 40 feet and, after it traveled 100 to 150 feet, began to wobble and sway with an unusual sound. The craft flew another 100 to 150 feet and was "wobbling" before it hit the ground as the wind was blowing downhill, the witness reported.
The NTSB report didn't cite defects with the helicopter.
The lawsuit alleges the helicopter experienced a mechanical failure and hit the ground at low speed.
All aboard "actually survived the crash," but a design flaw caused the fatal fire, according to a news release issued by the Los Angeles law firm representing Lee's wife, his daughter and son and his parents.
10-20-2009, 07:26 AM
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"The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found last year that the crash resulted from pilot error."
In almost every crash of any type of aircraft both the operator and manufacturer are sued. This has doubled the price of aircraft and made manufacturing as much an excercise in the law as one of engineering.
If the pilot runs into a mountain or runs out of fuel, the manufacturer is almost always sued.
In almost every crash of any type of aircraft both the operator and manufacturer are sued. This has doubled the price of aircraft and made manufacturing as much an excercise in the law as one of engineering.
If the pilot runs into a mountain or runs out of fuel, the manufacturer is almost always sued.
10-22-2009, 05:44 PM
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Joined APC: Feb 2009
Posts: 9
Originally Posted by jungle
In almost every crash of any type of aircraft both the operator and manufacturer are sued. This has doubled the price of aircraft and made manufacturing as much an excercise in the law as one of engineering.
If the pilot runs into a mountain or runs out of fuel, the manufacturer is almost always sued.
The cost of a Cessna 172A, manufactured in 1960 was $9,450. The price steadily rose until the early 1980's when a top of the line 172 cost $42,460. Today, a brand new 172 will set you back roughly $300,000. Coincidence? Hardly, the price of the US sue-happy society has taken its toll and increased the price of an aircraft WELL over what it should be with normal inflation. It will only get worse with all the lawyers that are being churned out.
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