Lawsuit claims Army helicopter is unsafe - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Lawsuit claims Army helicopter is unsafe

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — An $80 million lawsuit in Knox County Circuit Court claims that one of the U.S. Army’s most advanced helicopters is unsafe and responsible for the deaths of two Tennessee soldiers.

According to The Knoxville News Sentinel, the suit alleges the failure of the Full Authority Digital Electronic Control system in a Kiowa OH-58D Warrior helicopter caused the deaths of 28-year-old Marcus R. Alford Sr. of Knoxville and 25-year-old Billie Jean Grinder of Gallatin.

The two were pilots of the helicopter when it crashed in Iraq in February 2010. The suit was filed by family members.

Named as defendants in the suit are various helicopter or helicopter parts manufacturers. They are accused of negligence in failing to correct or remove unsafe, dangerous and defective conditions about which they should have known.