Sikorsky has settled a lawsuit brought by the families of six Canadian Armed Forces members who died when the CH-148 Cyclone helicopter (based on the S-92) they were in dove into the Ionian Sea off Greece in 2020. The crash occurred when the helicopter’s flight control system overrode pilot inputs and pushed the aircraft into an unrecoverable dive at low altitude. The families claimed that the company was grossly negligent in the design of the helicopter and didn’t test the system thoroughly. Sikorsky countered that the pilots shouldn’t have performed the “return to target” maneuver, which is the helicopter equivalent of a half Cuban eight, because it’s not in the flight manual.
There was no argument about the cause of the crash, but the two parties were deadlocked over who was to blame for the circumstances. After a couple of mediation sessions they cut a deal. The financial details of the settlement will not be released publicly. News of the deal itself was also under wraps. The deal was reached in April, and the families asked the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, where the helicopter was built, to approve the settlement in late June.
This was a very sad loss, including one or two ride alongs if I recall correctly. I hope they send former Prime Minister Chrétien a penny for his contribution - he cancelled the EH101/NSA for petty political reasons, significantly delaying the Seaking replacement (he refused to ride in a Seaking!) and forcing the selection of the untested/unbuilt S92. The Cyclone/S92 continues to have teething problems with system integration.