737 Rudder Lawsuit

[Shore Guy]

All,
I am no fan of plaintiff attorneys in the aviation business. They have and will continue to cripple our industry. But the behaviour of Boeing and Parker Hannifin in this suit, using the "blame the pilot" defense (as is Airbus in the A300 situation), is reprehensible.

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Jury says 737 rudder at fault

By Steve Miletich and David Bowermaster
Seattle Times business reporters


A federal jury in Pennsylvania found yesterday that the rudder system on a US Airways Boeing 737 jet caused it to crash on a hillside near Pittsburgh eight years ago, but placed most of the blame on a Boeing supplier.

The verdict marked the first time that a jury has blamed the rudder system, reaching its findings in a suit brought by US Airways against Parker Hannifin Corp., the maker of a valve in the plane's rudder.

The jury found Cleveland-based Parker Hannifin to be 75 percent liable for the crash that killed 132 people, and held Boeing responsible for 25 percent. The jury is not required to explain the split.

However, the ruling does not affect Boeing financially because it was not a defendant in the case, having settled in 1999 with US Airways for an undisclosed sum. Boeing admitted no liability in that settlement and has long blamed pilot error for the crash, as Parker Hannifin did in the trial that concluded yesterday.

The verdict requires Parker Hannifin to reimburse US Airways for 75 percent of the hundreds of millions of dollars it paid to victims' families. The exact figure paid to the families hasn't been disclosed.

The National Transportation Safety Board also placed the blame on the rudder system in the 1994 US Airways crash and the 1991 crash of a United Airlines flight near Colorado Springs, Colo., that killed 25 people.

The findings led the Federal Aviation Administration to issue a proposal last year that would require Boeing to install new rudder systems on its 737 aircraft at a cost of $364 million over the next five years.

The Pennsylvania jury heard US Airways argue the crash of its plane stemmed from the malfunction of hydraulic servo-control that controls the rudder. As a result, the rudder jammed, its attorneys said.

Parker Hannifin maintained the copilot incorrectly responded to bumps from a wake vortex from another plane and pressed the wrong rudder pedal, stalling the jetliner.

Boeing, which didn't have a role in the trial, also has blamed the Pennsylvania and Colorado crashes on pilot error.

Reacting to yesterday's verdict, David Castelveter, a US Airways spokesman, said: "Nothing can diminish the human tragedy of this accident and we take no joy in this verdict, but we are grateful that the jury has concluded what the NTSB already did, that our crew acted properly and did nothing to contribute to this accident."

Global Aerospace Underwriting Managers, the London-based insurer of US Airways that paid the hundreds of millions of dollars to settle claims, filed the suit. Parker Hannifin had not contributed to the settlement of claims.

Parker Hannifin said it will likely appeal the verdict once its lawyers have studied the decision.

The company has long insisted there was no evidence of problems with its valve.

"We do not believe there was a correct interpretation of the facts in the case," said Lorrie Crum, a Parker Hannifin spokeswoman. "The one undisputed fact in this case was that our valve worked perfectly even after (the accident). That is not reflected in this verdict."

Liz Verdier, a Boeing spokeswoman, stressed that Boeing wasn't involved in the trial and said the company is addressing the changes required by the FAA

[Cyclic Hotline]

Boeing Supplier Liable for Crash
Sat Jun 29, 2:35 AM ET
By MIKE CRISSEY, Associated Press Writer

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A Boeing Co. supplier is mostly to blame for the 1994 crash of a US Airways jet that went into a nosedive and slammed into a hillside, killing 132 people, a jury decided.

The verdict Friday means Parker Hannifin Corp., which made a valve in the plane's rudder, must reimburse the airline for most of the hundreds of millions of dollars US Airways paid to settle lawsuits brought by the families of those killed in the 1994 crash.

The jury found Parker Hannifin was 75 percent liable for the disaster near Pittsburgh International Airport. Boeing, which made the Boeing 737, was found to be 25 percent liable but will not have to pay any more money because it settled with the airline and victims' families in 1999, said Boeing spokeswoman Liz Verdier.

US Airways has never disclosed how much it paid, but attorneys for some of the victims' families have said the settlements were more than $1 million per passenger.

The jury rejected Parker Hannifin's argument that pilot error contributed to the crash.

"It's great for us that the pilots and the airline were found to have no liability," said Bill Pietragallo, US Airways' attorney.

Parker Hannifin spokeswoman Lorrie Paul Crum said the company will probably appeal.

"Our valve worked perfectly even after the crash," Crum said. "They dug it out of the hillside, it worked perfectly."

The National Transportation Safety Board ruled in 1999 that a malfunction in the rudder control system caused the jet to roll and nosedive. Based on the ruling, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a redesign of the 737's rudder system that is to be completed by 2006.

Parker Hannifin had argued that the flight's first officer, Charles Emmett, overreacted to turbulence caused by a jet ahead of Boeing 737 and inadvertently stalled the plane.

But US Airways called as an expert witness a Boeing 737 pilot who testified that Emmett reacted properly when the plane began to lose control. Emmett was one of five crew members killed.

"Nothing can diminish the human tragedy of this accident and we take no joy in this verdict, but we are grateful that the jury has concluded what the NTSB already has determined — that our crew acted properly and did nothing to contribute to this accident," airline spokesman David Castelveter said Friday.