Press report: Sikorsky pays massive damages to families of copter crash victims

Helsinki-Tallinn flights might resume next year

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According to a Finnish newspaper report, the next of kin of the 12 passengers who died in a helicopter accident in the Gulf of Finland are being paid considerable damages in an out-of-court settlement.
      The newspaper Ilta-Sanomat writes that Sikorsky, the manufacturer of the Copterline passenger helicopter that crashed on August 10th, 2005 while en route from the Estonian capital Tallinn to Helsinki, has agreed to pay damages totalling tens of millions of euros to the families. Family members reached by Helsingin Sanomat on Wednesday did not want to comment on the matter.
      Meanwhile, Copterline and the widows of the two crew members are continuing with preparations for their own lawsuits against Sikorsky. The case is expected to come to court in New York in just over a year.
     
Immediately after the crash, family members of all of the 12 passengers killed in the crash were paid a so-called first-aid compensation, as set by international rules. A representative of Copterline says that the payout was about EUR 15,000.
      An interim report on the causes of the crash is to be made public in Tallinn on Wednesday next week. According leaked information, the report is expected to reveal certain technical characteristics of the S-76 helicopter model.
     
The lawsuits pursued by the Finns are against Sikorsky, the manufacturer of the S-76 model, its subsidiary HSI, and Textron, the manufacturer of the helicopter's servo.
      The widows of the crew are also suing Plasma Technology, which provided the coating for the pistons of the main rotor of the stricken helicopter.
      The preparations for the trial include the examination of the e-mail, internal memos, and other documents of the companies involved.
     
Copterline, which operated the passenger helicopter service between Helsinki and Tallinn, will decide later this year whether or not it wants to resume scheduled services.
      The company has reportedly been looking into the purchase of two new helicopters. One of the models under consideration has been the Italian Agusta helicopter.
      Service could resume in about six months from the time that a helicopter is chosen.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Copterline and Sikorsky disagree on cause of August 2005 crash (16.10.2006)
  Reasons behind Copterline accident near Tallinn remain unclear (13.9.2005)
  Crew of ill-fated helicopter tried to send emergency message (23.8.2005)
  Post mortem results indicate helicopter crash victims died from drowning (17.8.2005)
  Problems noted earlier with Copterline helicopter rotors (12.8.2005)
  Fourteen passengers and crew dead after helicopter crashes in the sea off Estonian coast (10.8.2005)

Helsingin Sanomat