Posted on 10/13/2009 12:45:11 PM PDT by Your6
Seattle pilot, others "should have walked away" from crash
By LEVI PULKKINEN SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
Gravity and, likely, a mechanical failure brought down the helicopter in August 2007, impacting on a hillside a few miles outside of Easton.
It was the fire that followed that ended the lives of four on board, a timber owner, two Korean furniture makers and the pilot. And that fire, attorneys for one of the dead now claim, could have easily been prevented had the helicopter's manufacturer acted to remedy a long-known design flaw in the popular aircraft.
Ilyas Akbari, an attorney representing killed furniture manufacturer Si Young Lee, claimed Robinson Helicopter Co. had been told that a string of post-crash fires had resulted in deaths years before the Easton crash. Rather than strengthen the gas tanks aboard the light helicopters, the company opted to issued a safety warning suggesting that crew and passengers wear flame-retardant flight suits, helmets and gloves before flying.
Akbari contended that, had the company instead moved to fortify the fuel tank aboard the R44 Astro helicopter or enclose the fuel in a rubber bladder, Lee and the other victims of the crash would have survived. The alleged flaw, he argued, represents an unnecessary threat to any who board the helicopter, which is among the most popular in the world and used extensively for pilot training in the United States.
"We think that all four of these people could have survived this crash, should have survived this crash, if not for this defective gas tank," said Akbari, who filed the suit on behalf of Lee's family late last month in King County Superior Court.
"These people," he added, "should have walked away from this crash."
Contacted for comment, a Robinson spokesperson said the company does not comment on pending litigation.
Hoping to inspect timber for a potential purchase, Lee boarded the helicopter on Aug. 2, 2007, at Boeing Field in Seattle. The furniture company president was accompanied by his business partner Hyun Song, as well as Snohomish County timber owner Robert Hagermann and pilot Keiko Minakata, a 41-year-old Seattle woman.
They flew over Snoqualmie Pass to Hagermann's logging site situated in the hills four miles south of Easton, where they landed and spent less than an hour examining the property. Preparing to return to Seattle, they lifted off from the hillside and traveled about 150 feet before the helicopter apparently lost power.
Members of a logging crew working nearby witnessed the crash and said the helicopter lifted off cleanly before it began to wobble and descend, air safety investigator Tom Little said days after the crash.
"It was in a left bank, and for some reason became uncontrollable," said Little, of the National Transportation Safety Board. "It impacted the terrain, then burst into flames."
Surrounded by tinder-dry forest, the flames tore through hundreds of acres of timber before wildland firefighters assisted by aerial water drops were able to gain control of the blaze.
Speaking Friday, Akbari said that fire and the deaths of those aboard the helicopter could have been prevented had Robinson redesigned the fuel tank atop the R44.
Touted as the world's largest manufacturer of helicopters for commercial use, Robinson has produced more than 9,000 light helicopters since it was founded in 1973, according to company statements. The Torance, Calif.-based company claims to employee 1,200 people with annual sales exceeding $200 million; its helicopters, available in two-seat and four-seat configurations, have been sold in 50 countries.
Akbari contended that similar fires have followed dozens of such crashes around the world. Those fires, he said, and regulatory pressure prompted the company to issue a single-paragraph warning to users in July 2006. Nowhere in the notice does the company warn that the helicopters it produces could present a particular danger.
"There have been a number of cases where helicopter or light plane occupants have survived an accident only to be severely burned by fire following the accident," the notice read. "To reduce the risk of injury in a post-crash fire, it is strongly recommended that a fire-retardant Nomex flight suit, gloves and hood or helmet be worn by all occupants."
Calling the notice "a cynical attempt to avoid liability for a known dangerous and faulty design," Akbari argued the company is aware that the fuel tank is apt to explode following a low-speed crash like the one Lee and the others experienced.
On impact, Akbari said, a helicopter's top rotor usually strikes the ground and causes the aircraft the flip. Following that second impact, Akbari said, the Robinson tank can rupture and catch fire.
Akbari argued that an inexpensive fix -- either strengthening the gas tank or enclosing the fuel in a resilient, air-tight bladder -- would prevent the fires. Such a change, he said, would be a fraction of the $400,000 helicopter's cost.
"Robinson knew that these crashes were unsafe and were immolating their passengers," Akbari said. "People are dying for no reason."
Robinson has not yet formally responded to the lawsuit, which was filed Sept. 29 in King County Superior Court. Though financial damages are sought, no dollar figure is noted in court filings.
Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com.
Foamex V.
Of course gravity is part of the problem with any crash since the one guaranty in flying is you will eventually get back on the ground, whether in a controlled or uncontrolled fashion.
I’m ex-army aviation and I’ve worked on these but won’t fly in ‘em.
They Robinson production models aren’t homebuilts (obviously). Prototypes they test may be in the experimental category.
An R-44 nearly fell on top of my sister as she rode her horse just outside of Ann Arbor, MI about 5 years ago. Just dropped out of the sky and killed the two off-duty firefighters on board.
An R-44 dressed as a moose bit my sister once.
probably best to keep them on during flight too.
Me too and me either.
Skid tubes like pencils and heat atpe instead of chip detectors. And I was an OH-58 guy!
I'm familiar with the 22 homebuilts
Just a big model. I work on my models and would fly in them if they were big enough and would fly in an R-22 if my bank account was big enough!
I was kind of puzzled myself. They did start out as homebuilts unless my memory has entirely failed.
They don’t even fly at our density altitude of over 10,000 on most summer days. I believe the manufacturer has also stated not to fly here.
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