Boeing settles helicopter case

Chinooks remain popular, here in Sierra Leone

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing has agreed to pay the US government $54m to settle legal action connected to two fatal helicopter crashes.

This case demonstrates the tragic consequences that can occur when faulty parts are sold to the Defence Department

Acting assistant attorney general David Ogden

The case relates to problems which developed on three US army Chinook helicopters in flight - two of which crashed in the late 1980s and early 1990s, killing five soldiers and injuring two.

The US government claimed that Boeing and two sub-contractors sold the army more than 140 helicopters with defective gears.

Boeing denial

The US army's Chinook fleet has been partially grounded since January, following the discovery of further problems with their gears.

In the settlement Boeing denied all the allegations in the lawsuit - which included the claim that it knew the gears could develop problems - and said that it had fulfilled all its contractual obligations.

"This case demonstrates the tragic consequences that can occur when faulty parts are sold to the Defence Department," acting assistant attorney general David Ogden said in a statement announcing the settlement agreement.

"The lives of our service members, not only dollars, are at stake.

"This lawsuit sends a message that the United States will not stand by if contractors provide our military with sub-standard and dangerous equipment," he said.

Gulf War

Boeing said in a statement that it "believes that it acted not only legally but also ethically and responsibly in addressing the issues covered by this litigation".

The company said it wanted to settle the case "because resolving this protracted litigation is in the best interests of both Boeing and its US Army customer".

The Justice Department said one of the gears manufactured by Litton Precision Gear - which Boeing bought from Litton Industries in 1994 - failed in flight in Honduras in 1988, causing the helicopter to crash and burn, killing five servicemen.

Two gears manufactured by SPECO failed in flight, the department said. One crash occurred in 1991 in Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War, injuring two individuals, while the other incident involved a training flight in 1993.

The civil lawsuits were originally brought under 'whistle-blower' laws, by Brett Roby, a former SPECO quality engineer. The US government later joined in the action.

737 cracks

Mr Roby will get $10.5m of the settlement while the rest will go to the federal government.

In an unconnected event the US Federal Aviation Administration proposed Boeing be fined $1.2m for two safety breaches, one of which was for failing to report cracks in a 737-100 for more than a year.