Relatives of a man who died when a sightseeing helicopter crashed and sank in a New York City river have settled a lawsuit for $90 million, agreeing to reduce a jury award in order to foreclose appeals and end the case.
Court records show a Manhattan judge approved the settlement Wednesday in the wrongful death case of Trevor Cadigan, seven years after he died at age 26.
Last fall, a Manhattan jury awarded $116 million to Cadigan’s relatives, but defendants later took steps to challenge the award.
The settlement stops those challenges, and Cadigan family lawyer Gary C. Robb said Thursday that his clients felt it was time to close the case.
“Their primary objective was twofold, and that is, one, to ensure accountability for what happened to Trevor, and also to shine a bright light on dangerous helicopter operator practices and induce them to do a better, safer job,” Robb said by phone.
“And they accomplished both objectives, we believe.”
The aircraft, which had no doors, plunged into the East River after a passenger restraint tether snagged on a floor-mounted fuel shut-off switch, stopping the engine, a National Transportation Safety Board investigation found.
The pilot was able to release his seat belt and escape the sinking aircraft, but the five passengers were trapped in safety harnesses.
Killed were Cadigan; his friend Brian McDaniel, 26; Carla Vallejos Blanco, 29; Tristan Hill, 29; and Daniel Thompson, 34. Cadigan, a journalist, had recently moved to New York from Dallas.
The chief executive at FlyNYON, which arranged the flight, said the company had made numerous changes over the past few years to improve safety, including changing safety harnesses, installing a new quick release system, switching to a different model of helicopter, adding training for pilots and hiring a safety officer.
“The introspection and self-critical analysis we have undertaken in the last six-and-a-half years have shaped our view of what it means to be an industry leader, and we’re a safer, smarter, and stronger company for it,” CEO Patrick Day said in an email to The Associated Press.
Messages seeking comment were sent to lawyers for Liberty Helicopters, which owned the helicopter involved in the crash and supplied the pilot.
Another defendant, flotation device maker Dart Aerospace, declined to comment.
After the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily grounded doors-off flights with tight seat restraints.
Such flights later resumed with requirements for restraints that can be released with a single action.
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