As reported by ABC News and other media outlets, the widow of an F-22 fighter pilot has settled her wrongful death lawsuit against Lockheed Martin and Boeing on the grounds of plane malfunction, after the two contracting heavyweights strongly opposed the litigation and claimed it was pilot error.
A.H., widow of Capt. J.H., named other major defense contractors that were involved in making the plane, citing that they had provided the Air Force with a "dangerous" and "defective" aircraft – with full knowledge of its propensity for malfunction because they had designed it.
The spokesperson for Boeing told reporters, "The matter has settled and the settlement terms are confidential" and refused to make any further comment.
In November of 2010, Capt. J.H. was completing a routine training mission when his F-22 plane malfunctioned – and cut off his necessary oxygen over the Alaska wilderness. His plane went into a dive for approximately one minute before slamming into the ground.
The speed of the plane was estimated to be faster than the speed of sound.
Months of investigations proved, according to the Air Force, that the fault of the crash was solely due to Capt. J.H. A report released by the Air Force read that "by clear and convincing evidence" Capt. J.H. caused his own plane to crash. The reason given was that he was too distracted – by not being able to breathe – to fly his plan correctly.
The Air Force stated that their belief was that Capt. J.H. was never so deprived of oxygen that it rendered him totally unconscious.
His family, other F-22 pilots, experts in aviation and the Inspector General of the Pentagon argued the Air Force's report.
The Inspector General then called for its own report to review the Air Force investigation.
Family members proposed that Capt. J.H. most likely had to have passed out from lack of oxygen, at some point during the flight, and could not be held responsible for causing his own death.
Capt. J.H.'s sister told reporters, "I'd like to think it's easier to blame (J.H.). He's not here to defend himself. To them, (J.H.) was a number, it feels like sometimes. But those jets are worth a lot of money."
The F-22 is sold at a cost of $420 million and is the most expensive fighter jet in the U.S.
Two dozen F-22 pilots experienced symptoms of oxygen deprivation during flights, as reported by ABC News, and one almost perished in crash because of it.
The Air Force claims to have corrected the malfunction.
The plane has yet to be used in combat since 2005.
Capt. J.H. leaves behind a widow and two small children.
A wrongful death lawsuit is called for if a loved one has tragically died due to the fault of another party, or in this case, a faulty plane. Contact a personal injury lawyer to file your wrongful death lawsuit and begin to recover your damages.