Jury faults GE for helicopter crash that killed nine.

The website of KDRV-TV Medford, OR (3/28) reported, "A jury says General Electric is responsible" for a 2008 helicopter crash that killed nine firefighters battling a northern California wildfire. The jury said "G.E. must pay nearly $70 million to a pilot of that helicopter who survived and to the family of the other pilot who was killed." The jury "found the helicopter manufacturer, Sikorsky and the Carson Helicopters were partially at fault, but put most of the blame on G.E., finding it 57% responsible."

        The AP (3/28) added that plaintiffs claimed "the company knew the engines it made for the Sikorsky S-61N helicopter had a design flaw making the equipment unsafe." GE "countered that the helicopter crashed because it was carrying too much weight" and noted that after a two-year investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board "concluded in 2010 that too much weight and a lack of oversight caused the crash."