Tragically, when a component on a helicopter fails, disaster often follows. Because the margin of error is so small, helicopter manufacturers have the highest responsibility to ensure their craft's safe design and manufacture. With a large number of helicopter manufacturers based in the Delaware Valley, a court system that is well equipped to manage complex cases, and Raynes McCarty's decades of experience in representing the families of helicopter crash victims, we are regularly called upon to lead the investigation and prosecution of the families' claims.

Counseling and representing those affected by a helicopter crash entails complex legal and technical issues. Which legal forum is best for the families in terms of discovering what happened and securing a just result? What claims can be pre-empted by FAA regulation or delegation? What law will govern the calculation of damages? What technical expertise must be gained to understand the cause of failure? Drawing upon our depth of talent, Raynes McCarty has successfully tackled these issues:

• Sikorsky S-92 Crash off the Coast of Newfoundland On March 12, 2009, sixteen workers were being flown on a Sikorsky S-92 helicopter to oil platforms stationed off the coast of Newfoundland. A titanium bolt cracked, releasing all of the oil in the gear box, causing the transmission to seize, and the helicopter to plummet into the north Atlantic. Fifteen of the passengers perished as the helicopter sank; the lone survivor suffered lifetime injuries. Because Sikorsky had recently moved its headquarters for S-92 helicopters to the Delaware Valley, Canadian counsel asked Raynes McCarty to represent the sole survivor and all of the families of the passengers killed. Investigation showed that Sikorsky knew long before the accident about the vulnerability of its titanium bolt and that its helicopter could not stay aloft for 30 minutes after complete oil loss, a safety feature standard in other copters. Raynes McCarty filed suit in Philadelphia state court, and then entered into mediation discussions with Sikorsky. In order to document each family's loss, Raynes attorneys, working with their Canadian co-counsel, videotaped hundreds of hours of interviews that were then edited into sixteen settlement presentations, one for each client. Through two weeks of mediation and in less than a year after the accident, every client's case was resolved for amounts – made confidential to protect the clients – that ensured their financial security and honored those that they had lost.
• Chinook Helicopter Crash off the Coast of Scotland When a Chinook helicopter went down off the coast of Scotland, all 46 oil riggers on board perished. Because of severely low limits for wrongful death damages under Scottish law, the families retained Raynes McCarty to advise them about their potential claims under U.S. law. Detailed investigation of the crash revealed a defect in the helicopter, which had been manufactured by Delaware Valley based Boeing-Vertol. Raynes McCarty filed suit in Philadelphia. When we won the years long battles over the choice of which country's law would apply and where the cases would be heard, the case settled in the tens of millions of dollars.
• Boeing Vertol Helicopter Crash in British Columbia, Canada Two pilots, with young families, were killed when a Boeing Vertol helicopter broke apart in mid-air and crashed to the ground during logging operations in Bella Bella, British Columbia. The helicopter, a large dual-rotor model designed to carry over 26 people, crashed because a part that controlled the tilt of the rear rotors fractured, permitting the rotors to tilt so far forward that they literally chopped the fuselage to pieces. The copter was operated out of British Columbia, maintained in Oregon, and equipped with parts made in California that were designed in Connecticut. The helicopter, however, was originally designed and manufactured at The Boeing Company's Pennsylvania facility. Working with a team of lawyers, including Canadian counsel – Camp, Fiorante and Matthews – and aviation counsel – Podhurst, Orseck – Raynes McCarty filed suit in Philadelphia, and through mediation, supported by compelling video interviews of family and co-workers, obtained a settlement that secured the families' financial future.

A number of our attorneys are Fellows of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, which gives us access to a worldwide network of the most respected trial lawyers.