Plaintiffs Argued Successfully That GE Knew The Engine Design Was Flawed

A jury in Portland, OR, ruled Tuesday that a GE engine was to blame for an accident in which nine firefighters were fatally injured. The crew was being airlifted away from the Iron 44 wildfire in Shasta-Trinity National Forest near Weaverville, CA, in a Sikorsky S-61N helicopter when it went down.

Attorneys for GE said that the helicopter, which was carrying 13 people at the time of the accident, was overloaded by some 1,400 pounds. They said the pilots on board had recieved inaccurate wieght and balance information from Carson Helicopters of Grant Pass, OR, the aircraft's owner. One of the pilots survived the accident and was a party to the suit.

But the attorney's for the plaintiffs said that GE knew of a design flaw in the fuel system of the helicopter's engine. They pointed to an e-mail the day after the accident which discussed the size of the fuel filter. The internal document indictated that the military version of the helo uses a much finer filter in the fuel system. Plaintiffs' attorneys also said that GE had known of a problem with a fuel valve on the aircraft, but according the the Portland Oregonian, they did not correct the problem, treating it like a service issue.

While the families of most of those fatally injured in the accident took out-of-court settlements, the suit against GE was brought by William Coultas, the surviving pilot, the estate of Roark Schwaneberg, the pilot who did not survive, and Coultas' wife. The jury awarded $28.4 million to the estate. Coultas received $37 million, and his wife was awarded $4.3 million by the jury.

The jury found that GE was 57 percent at fault for the accident, and placed the rest of the blame on the helicopter's owner and Sikorsky, according to a report from the Associated Press. The NTSB probable cause report, which is not admissible as evidence in court, found that the fact that the helicopter was overloaded was the reason for the accident, with lack of oversight as a contributing factor. A GE spokesman said the company would appeal, but it must first look at the full language of the verdict.

FMI: www.ge.com