Families of sailors killed in San Diego helicopter crash reach settlement with Sikorsky Aircraft

SAN DIEGO (CN) — The families of three U.S. Navy sailors killed in a helicopter crash in 2021 reached a settlement Monday with the helicopter manufacturer they said designed a defective component of the helicopter.

The families of Petty Officer 2nd Class James Buriak, Petty Officer 2nd Class Sarah Burns and Petty Officer 3rd Class Bailey Tucker filed a lawsuit against Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. in August 2023 over product liability in the MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter crash, which also took the lives of two other sailors, Lt. Bradley Foster and Lt. Paul Fridley.

According to the plaintiffs, the helicopter, known as Loosefoot 616, had just finished a two-and-a-half-hour search and rescue mission about 60 miles off the coast of San Diego when it landed aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier. The helicopter began to experience lateral vibrations as soon as it touched down, causing the helicopter to yaw left and right so that its rotors impacted the flight deck, resulting in its tipping over into the ocean, the plaintiffs write.

The remains of Buriak, Burns and Tucker were recovered five weeks after the crash, along with the wreckage of the helicopter from a depth of about 5,300 feet, the Navy said in a statement at the time.

One crew member was rescued from the helicopter, though injured, according to the Navy. Five other members of aboard the ship were also injured, the Navy said.

An in-flight failure of a helicopter rotor component resulted in severe vibrations upon touchdown, according to a Navy investigation.

The plaintiffs write that the failure of the helicopter’s main rotor damper hose was due to a dangerous and defective design of the damper system that was susceptible to damage during routine maintenance. There was no evidence that weather conditions or pilot error caused the crash, according to a Navy investigation.

The MH-60S Sea Hawk is similar to the more commonly known Blackhawk helicopter, another Sikorsky product, but is designed for maritime operations. The Sea Hawk was first operational in 2002.

One major difference between the two helicopters is that the Sea Hawk’s main rotor damper system relies on hydraulic hoses that are connected to a single hydraulic accumulator so that a failure in any of the hoses would disable the entire system, the plaintiffs write in their complaint. This design is different from that of the Blackhawk helicopters, which uses four independent accumulators (one per blade) so that the failure of a single hose does not impact any of the others, they write.

The plaintiffs also write that the location of the hydraulic damper hoses near the main rotor attachment point resulted in their susceptibility to damage during maintenance on the main rotor. Additionally, there was no inspection criterion to detect damage to the hydraulic damper hoses, they write.

The plaintiffs write that Sikorsky knew about this single point of failure in the damper hoses and unnecessarily endangered the sailors. They filed their lawsuit against Sikorsky under the Death on the High Seas Act, claiming defective design, failure to warn and negligence.

A Navy investigation into the incident found that there were no likely indications of a damper hose failure before the flight.

The crash prompted the Navy to review the safety of all Sea Hawk helicopters and assess potential risks to other crews. In 2022, the Navy modified the damper hoses to prevent their damage, according to a memo signed by Vice Admiral Steve Koehler, Third Fleet commander at the time.

The Sea Hawk helicopter has been involved in other high-profile crashes, including in the Philippines in 2020.

Neither party in the case provided details on the terms of the settlement.

“Our condolences remain with those who lost loved ones," a Sikorsky spokesperson told Courthouse News. “We have agreed to a confidential settlement and as such cannot comment further.”