Troy Gentry’s widow files suit over fatal helicopter crash

Country star Troy Gentry’s widow has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the manufacturers of the helicopter, which crashed and cost him his life last year (17).
The singer passed away on 8 September (17) after the chopper, in which he was a passenger, suffered mechanical issues and came down moments after take off from Flying W Airport in Medford, New Jersey, where Troy had been scheduled to perform with his Montgomery Gentry bandmate, Eddie Montgomery, later that night.
Gentry, 50, was rescued from the wreckage of the Model 269 helicopter, but he was pronounced dead at a local hospital. The only other person on board, pilot James Evan Robinson, was killed upon impact.
The musician’s wife, Angela K. Gentry, is now taking legal action against officials at Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, Sikorsky Global Helicopters, Inc., and the Keystone Helicopter Corporation, claiming there were various issues with the aircraft’s construction.
The suit, filed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 14 February (18), reads: “The dangers from the lack of crashworthiness and defects in the engine, transmission and sprag clutch, throttle cables, engine attachments and absence of crashworthy features were unknown to the average user and consumer of this helicopter but well known to these defendants who made it a point to hide and deny and problems that could and did cause serious personal injury and death.”
She also alleges the helicopter’s handbook failed to offer instructions about how to deal with the mechanical problems Robinson experienced, reports Courthouse News Service.
Investigators at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) previously determined a faulty engine was to blame for the pilot losing control of the helicopter in their preliminary accident report.
Callie Ferrari, a spokeswoman for the Sikorsky organisation, has declined to comment on the specifics of the lawsuit as the NTSB investigation is still ongoing, but insists the firm’s bosses are “fully cooperating” with authorities.