lawsuit vs. NTSB
Helicopter company found liable
Defective gyroscope was cause of crash, jury finds
By Louise Taylor
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
A federal jury, directly contradicting the National Transportation Safety Board's findings last year, decided yesterday that Goodrich Avionics was to blame for the deadly 1999 crash of a University of Kentucky medical helicopter and awarded the co-pilot's widow $1.276 million.
The eight jurors found Goodrich, of Grand Rapids, Mich., 100 percent at fault for the crash because the vertical gyroscope, which indicates the pitch and roll of a helicopter and is critical to pilots, was dangerously defective.
Judy Greene of Somerset, the widow of co-pilot Donald Greene -- who was flying the Sikorsky A-76 when it slammed into a remote Breathitt County mountain on a foggy June night -- wept as a court clerk read the verdict after a two-week trial in U.S. District Court in Lexington.
"You can smile now," one of her attorneys said, trying to coax her from her tears.
The crash killed four crew members on the helicopter that was named UK2: Greene, 46; pilot Ernest L. Jones, 48, of Cleveland; flight nurse Sheila Zellers, 43, of Elizabethtown; and paramedic Brian Harden, 31, of Richmond.
Judy Greene's lead attorney, Jerome Skinner of Cincinnati, said that the verdict cleared pilots Greene and Jones, who were found at fault in the crash by the NTSB, which after a two-year investigation concluded that the two were miscommunicating before the accident. The NTSB also pointed to fog and darkness as crash factors.
Nineteen seconds before impact, Greene said over his radio, "I think I've lost my gyro." Jones replied that he should keep his heading.
Within seconds, the magnitude of the problem was obvious. Jones' last words: "Turn right! Turn right."
Greene, however, was veering left, straight into the mountain.
The jury, after hearing evidence of about 29 incidents involving Goodrich gyros over six months and looking at a long record of repairs on the gyro of the UK helicopter, decided the federal investigators were simply wrong.
Goodrich attorney Arnold Taylor of Covington said the NTSB "made no attribution of any problems with the vertical gyros in this case" and that Greene had "no facts" on her side in pressing the lawsuit against the company.
The gyro itself was never recovered from the crash. "It is unfair for this case to even be submitted to a jury -- we can't defend ourselves," Taylor said minutes before the jury came back with its verdict after about 41/2 hours of deliberation.
On the other side, Skinner and his co-counsel, William Back, saw the verdict as clearing the pilots' names. "The NTSB concluded Mr. Greene caused the accident," said Skinner. "And the jury found that's not true," Back interjected.
Added Skinner: "Goodrich took the position that they couldn't lose, so getting 100 percent feels pretty good."
It was no great wonder, Skinner said, that the gyro was never found. The Sikorsky was plucked from the mountainside by another helicopter and flown, dangling, for many miles. "All along the route, pieces were falling off in the forest," he said. "We searched for it, but never found it."
The "clincher" in the trial, Skinner said, was evidence left in the forest that contradicted claims of pilot error and the helicopter's position at the time of the crash.
"Trees don't lie," he said. "They got sliced and cut in a direction" that supported the theory that the gyros were bad.
Judy Greene has been scraping by on her dead husband's workers' compensation benefits since the accident, Skinner said, so the money will be welcome relief.
Goodrich could appeal. Taylor said that he will discuss the matter with his clients and make that decision soon.
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At 2205:51, the CVR recorded the pilot-in-command (PIC) transmitting on UNICOM frequency, '...we'll be a uh... south departure right turn we, be uh west out of the area.' The airport manager acknowledged this.
At 2206:18, the CVR recorded the second-in-command (SIC) on interphone, 'I'm gonna lift to a hover, and we'll un get sixty knots before we get solid in it I guess. Try to keep it within the lights down here.' The PIC acknowledged this.
At 2206:51, the PIC stated, 'airspeed's alive, positive rate of climb.', and the PIC subsequently said, 'your at thirty [knots]', and then 'heading one nine zero.' This was followed by the PIC stating, 'I'm gonna kill the landing....[lights].' The SIC acknowledged this.
At 2207:22, the CVR recorded the PIC on interphone, 'and you're at eighty... wanna hold eighty. Or Vbroc [Velocity best rate of climb] rather.' The SIC acknowledged this.
At 2207:32, the PIC transmitted, 'indy center sikorsky ah two seven four three echo we're ah passing one thousand six hundred for four thousand.' AZQ replied, 'november two seven four three echo indy center roger, and ah understand climbing to four thousand say altitude leaving.', to which the PIC replied, 'one thousand six hundred for ah four thousand.' This transmission was acknowledged by AZQ.
At 2207:51, the PIC was heard to say, 'go ahead and stay on your heading.', after which two unidentified intercom transmissions were recorded, 'alright.', and then, 'its ok, you got five hours.'
At 2208:03, the PIC stated, 'ok your in a right hand turn and descending.' There was no acknowledgement from the SIC.
At 2208:05, the SIC stated, 'ok I think my gyro just quit.' There was no acknowledgement from the PIC.
At 2208:10, the SIC asked, 'you have the controls?' There was no acknowledgement from the PIC.
At 2208:11, the PIC stated, 'you're in a left hand turn and descending...turn turn back and level level us off. There was no acknowledgement from the SIC.
At 2208:16, the CVR recorded an increase in ambient noise level through the microphone-summing amplifier.
At 2208:18, the PIC stated, 'right hand turn.....right hand turn.' There was no acknowledgement from the SIC.
At 2208:24, the CVR recorded the initial sound of impact and ceased operation.
In the Air Taxi Operations Section, the following was found:
'Transfer of Controls'
'Transfer of aircraft control will be positive with the statement, 'You have the controls', 'I have the controls'. Do not use the phrase, 'I have it.' '
'Crew Cross-Checking'
'The PNF [pilot not flying] must, without hesitation, call attention to deviations outside given tolerances or procedures. The PF [pilot flying] must invite and accept cross-monitoring, and cross-checking. The keys to advanced crew coordination are mutual confidence, early detection, immediate verification, and correction of error. The crew must work together, avoiding overconfidence or complacency.'
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident/incident as follows.
the failure of the PIC to adequately supervise the SIC, and maintain a positive climb. Factors were the fog and dark night.