Son of WVa helicopter crash victim files wrongful death suit

By LEAH WILLINGHAM
Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The son of a man who died in a June helicopter crash in West Virginia that killed six people has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company that owned the Vietnam-era aircraft and others. Brian Bledsoe’s father, Marvin Bledsoe, died when he was a passenger in the Bell UH-1B “Huey” helicopter during a reunion for helicopter enthusiasts at MARPAT Aviation in Logan County on June 22. The lawsuit was filed in Logan County Circuit Court. The suit alleges the helicopter’s frame “had been subject to innumerable stressors and abuses for 60 years” and it was unsuited for use as a passenger helicopter. MARPAT Aviation has declined to comment.