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Mother Of Crash Victim Sues Helicopter Maker, Operator
The mother of a man killed in the crash of a helicopter headed to gulf oil platform is suing both the helicopter’s manufacturer and its operator.
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7 Comments 
BEAUMONT (February 21, 2009)--A woman whose son was killed when a helicopter headed to an oil platform crashed in the Gulf of Mexico is suing two companies in the death.
Gayle Spikes filed a lawsuit against helicopter transportation company Rotorcraft Leasing Co., LLC and Fort Worth, Texas-based Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc.
Her son James Cody Smalts was one of five men who died Dec. 11 when the air taxi helicopter they were in crashed south of Sabine Pass.
According to the lawsuit, Smalts had been in the water for about 4½ before his body was found.
The Beaumont Enterprise reports he died from asphyxia from drowning, with complications from hypothermia.
The lawsuit alleges that Bell Helicopter was negligent by designing the helicopter to be "susceptible to engine failure caused by ingestion of snow and ice."
Rotorcraft was negligent in the maintenance and operation of the helicopter, the suit contends.
Rotorcraft declined to comment.
Bell Helicopter did not return a message left by The Associated Press.
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Latest Comments
YOU ARE RIGHT TO SAY THAT A LAWSUIT WILL NOT BRING BACK THE DEAD, BUT MAYBE IT WILL CAUSE THE HELICOPTER COMPANYS THAT FLY THE PERSONEL TO THEIR WORK LOCATIONS IN THE GULF TO BE MORE CAREFULL AND NOT PUT PROFIT OVER SAFETY OF A HUMAN LIFE,OR IN THIS CASE FOUR PRODUCTION OPERATORS THAT WERE JUST TRYING TO EARN A LIVING DOING WHAT THEY HAD TO DO AS PART OF THEIR JOB. DID ANYONE STOP TO THINK THAT MAYBE NO ONE IS GIVING ANY ANSWERS AND THE FAMILY WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THE TRUTH OF WHY IT TOOK OVER TWO HOURS BEFORE HELP WAS EVEN CALLED TO LOOK FOR THESE MEN. THE MEN THAT WORK IN THIS FIELD ARE AWARE OF THE DANGERS, AND HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT IN THE CASE OF AN ACCIDENT THAT HELP WILL COME. IF THIS COMPANY IS NOT HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS THEN WHAT IS TO STOP THE MAJOR COMPANIES FROM KILLING PERSONEL.
Hey Tex, you should sue either the landscaper when the home was being built, or find out where the grass came from and sue the seed salesman..... Anything to get a quick buck these days...
Helicopters are not generally designed to fly in IMC conditions. The technology is giving heli pilots a false sense of security, they get in over their head and it turns out bad! FYI: Icing conditions can occur even on the warmest of days due to atmospheric pressure differeces and temperature. Commercial Helicopter Pilot
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