Textron Inc.’s Bell Helicopter unit
must face a trial over the deaths of three paramedics killed in a
1998 helicopter crash in Los Angeles after the California Supreme
Court refused to hear the company’s appeal.
The widows of the paramedics sued Textron’s Bell, claiming
that the crash was caused by a defective tail-rotor yoke, which
broke as the helicopter was attempting to transport an injured
child to a hospital. The child also died.
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Bell Helicopter initially won dismissal of the suit by
citing a federal law that bars claims against general aircraft
makers if the part that allegedly failed was more than 18 years
old. An state appeals court reversed, finding the law did not
apply to Bell, because the company withheld information from the
Federal Aviation Administration about previous yoke failures. The
California Supreme Court denied Bell’s request to review the case.
“The Supreme Court obviously didn’t feel Bell’s request had
any merit,” Robert E. Guilford, attorney for the widows, said in
a statement. “Bell had a responsibility to alert the FAA of the
flaw in their tail rotor yoke.”
Karen Gordon, a spokeswoman for Textron, declined to comment
on the case. The Providence, Rhode Island-based company, which
had $10.7 billion in sales last year, is the world’s biggest
maker of business jets, with its Cessna line.
The lawsuit will likely go to trial in early 2004, said
Guilford, of the Los Angeles firm of Baum, Hedlund, Aristei,
Guilford & Schiavo.
Bloomberg News
