Missing Critical Engine Parts Cited as Cause in Complaint Against the Owner and Operator
SAN DIEGO, June 19, 2024 —Two firefighters from San Diego, who were severely injured in a helicopter crash near the Banning Municipal Airport following an aerial firefighting mission in 2022, have filed a personal injury lawsuit against the aircraft’s owner and operator. The Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the Pomona Courthouse, alleges the engine of the Bell Helicopter Textron Model 2061-1 that crashed was missing critical parts, causing it to lose control.
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection firefighters Mitchell Hubbard and Nicholas Clements were on board the helicopter, along with the pilot, after working to contain the deadly Fairview Fire near Hemet, Calif. on Sept. 10, 2022. As the helicopter was returning to the Banning Municipal Airport, the pilot lost control of the aircraft, which went into a right rotation. The pilot attempted to land in a backyard, but the helicopter spun, landed hard and rolled on to its side. All three on board survived, but with significant injuries.
“In California, we take great pride in having some of the best firefighters in the world in CalFire. These public servants risk their lives every year in the harshest of conditions,” said Casey Gerry Partner Jason C. Evans, one of the attorneys representing Hubbard and Clements. “It is essential for those who provide support services to CalFire do so with professionalism and accountability.”
The National Transportation Safety Board investigated and found that components critical to the tail rotor drive shaft, which separated at a flex coupling, were missing, according to the lawsuit. The NTSB concluded that the missing parts were the probable cause of the crash, as they resulted in the helicopter losing control, the lawsuit claims.
Helicopter owner Bluesky Helicopters, Inc. and operator B3 Consultants, both based in La Verne, Calif., were named as defendants in the lawsuit. The defendants’ failure to install and maintain the components caused “the aircraft to be in a dangerous and defective condition when it began flying plaintiffs and throughout their ill-fated flight,” the lawsuit states. The case is Hubbard, et al. v. Bluesky Helicopters, Inc., et al., 24PSCV01957.
“A defective helicopter is the last thing our firefighters need when trying to serve the public,” Evans added.
