Daughters Say It's Not About The Money

The family of 57-year-old Medical Procurement Technician David Hines has filed suit against the operator of a helicopter in which Hines died on December 26, 2011. As ANN reported, the Bell 206B (similar aircraft pictured) was making a run to retrieve a donated heart from a hospital in Gainesville, FL for transplant into a waiting recipient at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. The wreckage was found four hours after the flight began, in a wooded area near Green Cove Springs, with evidence suggesting it had clipped treetops in foggy conditions under a 300' cloud ceiling.

Jacksonville.com reports the suit was filed Friday against SK Logistics, the helicopter's operator. On Monday, Christine Hines, her sister, Crystal Griner, and their attorney, Robert Spohrer told reporters that while the lawsuit seeks damages, money is not the point. Griner commented, "We just want justice for our father and the other families that are going through this. We do not want anything to happen to anybody else. This is a horrible, horrible thing."

Spohrer added, "The information that was available from the crash scene suggests that this is an operational negligence situation and the lawsuit enables the family to subpoena to get information that SK Logistics until now has declined to give us."

Officials of the company have declined comment on the pending litigation.

Also on the ill-fated flight were 68-year-old pilot Hoke Smith, described as a highly decorated Vietnam Pilot with commendations that include The Bronze Star, The Purple Heart, and The Distinguished Flying Cross, and 49-year-old Mayo Clinic Cardiac Surgeon Luis Bonilla.

The NTSB's preliminary report noted that during the enroute portion of the flight, the helicopter's altitude varied between 200 and 700 feet MSL. The last radar target was recorded at 0553:23, about one mile north of the accident site, indicating an altitude of 300 feet MSL. A debris field was observed which originated with several trees that were severed by breaks at descending altitudes.

FMI: Original ANN Report ; NTSB Prelim