Story ID: 
Court Cites Faulty Gyros as Accident Cause
By: Bill Wagstaff
Caption: In a decision directly in opposition to an earlier conclusion by the NTSB, a federal court jury in Kentucky has found Goodrich Avionics completely liable f
Word Count: 182
In a decision directly in opposition to an earlier conclusion by the NTSB, a federal court jury in Kentucky has found Goodrich Avionics completely liable for the June 1999 crash of a University of Kentucky aeromedically configured Sikorsky S-76. Killed were pilot Donald Greene and three other crewmembers. An NTSB investigation had earlier concluded that Greene and copilot Ernst Jones were miscommunicating before the accident, with darkness and deteriorating weather also cited. The court found its case in that 19 seconds before impact, Greene said over the radio, “I think I’ve lost my gyro.” Jones replied that he should keep his heading, but within seconds the aircraft had veered off course. Jones told Greene to turn right but examiners found Greene was turning left at the time of impact. Greene’s widow filed suit, claiming the Goodrich vertical gyroscope, which detects pitch and roll movements, was defective. That was part of a history of 29 incidents involving Goodrich gyros over a recent six-month period. Also presented were records showing a long history of repairs on the specific gyro installed in the university’s S-76.