Plaintiffs Seeking Nearly $27 Million In Damages

A lawsuit filed in the Supreme Court of Newfoundland is seeking nearly $27 million in damages from Sikorsky, which has been charged with "reckless behavior and willful misconduct" following an accident off the Canadian coast which killed 17 people.

The accident occurred when the Sikorsky S-92 lost oil pressure in its main gearbox and went down in the Atlantic 11 minutes later. The suit, filed by Cougar Helicopters which operated the flight and 8 insurance companies led by Lloyd's of London, claims that Sikorsky used analysis that was "flawed" when it certified that the aircraft could fly 30 minutes with a dry gearbox. The claim holds that “By promoting and advertising the S-92 as having a ‘30-minute run-dry' capacity, Sikorsky fraudulently misrepresented to buyers and operators the airworthiness and flight safety of the S-92."

The Toronto Globe and Mail reports that the suit also names the Canadian Transport Minister and Sikorsky's parts and repair division Helicopter Support Inc.

The FAA issued an emergency AD shortly after the accident occurred. ANN reported  in November, 2009 that the gearbox had failed a dry test during the S-92 certification process, but that aircraft was certified after a manual bypass valve was installed that would divert oil to the gearbox in the event of a catastrophic leak. The bypass must be activated by the pilot. A second aircraft was tested with the bypass installed and activated, and the system performed well. The gearbox did not fail after several hours of testing.

File Photo

The Canadian investigation centered on titanium studs which hold the oil filter bowl on the aircraft's main gearbox. The suit contends that Sikorsky knew the studs were susceptible to "fatigue, cracking, and failure" after an S-92 made an emergency landing in Australia in 2008. Sikorsky did issue a service bulletin prior to the Cougar crash, but it did not require the immediate replacement of the titanium studs with steel parts. Transport Canada determined that the titanium studs had broken on the accident aircraft, which caused the oil leak

Sources say it is unusual for the government to be the target of such a lawsuit for failing to meet certification standards, and that it is even more unlikely for such a case to go to trial. Neither Sikorsky or the Canadian government was willing to comment on the pending litigation. Sikorsky has reportedly filed paperwork seeking to have the lawsuit moved to a U.S. court. The Canadian Transportation Board still has the accident under investigation.

FMI: www.sikorsky.com, www.court.nl.ca/supreme/default.htm