MH-60S Suffered Tail Rotor Failure Off San Clemente Island

A California law firm has filed a Complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of the families of three Navy sailors who died when their helicopter suffered an apparent tail rotor drive failure and went down in the Pacific Ocean during a training exercise two years ago.

The San Mateo-based firm of O'Reilly & Danko filed the Complaint on behalf of the spouses, families and relatives of Petty Officer First Class Cory Helman, Lt. Adam Dyer and Petty Officer 2nd Class Christopher H. Will. As ANN reported, the three sailors were killed when their MH-60S Knighthawk crashed during a training exercise off San Clemente Island on January 26, 2007.

Named as Defendants in the Complaint are the manufacturers of the Knighthawk, and of several of its components.

The Navy's Judge Advocate General Manual (JAGMAN) investigation found the reason for the crash to be "undetermined"... but, the law firm asserts, the JAGMAN's final report omitted one investigator's opinion that shortly before the pilot issued a "mayday" call the helicopter experienced a failure of the tail rotor drive system.

The crew members' survivors hired their own experts to look at the matter, the law firm adds, and asked that they be allowed to inspect the wreckage. The Navy initially indicated it would allow the inspection... but then made an about face and refused absent a court order.

"The Helmans, Dyers and Wills still have not received an answer to why the helicopter carrying their loved ones crashed into the Pacific," said their attorney, Michael S. Danko. "They just want to know what happened, and they want to make sure no other military families suffer the same losses they did on January 26, 2007."

FMI: www.oreillylaw.com/, www.navy.mil