Troy Gentry’s Widow Suing Helicopter Manufacturer Over Crash

NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) — Angie Gentry, the widow of the late country performer Troy Gentry, has filed a lawsuit against the companies who manufactured the helicopter that he was riding in at the time of his death.

Gentry, who was 50 at the time of his passing, was killed on September 8th, 2017 in a helicopter crash while taking an aerial tour of Medford, New Jersey, where he and his bandmate Montgomery were set to perform that evening.

According to Courthouse News Service, Angie Gentry has filed suits against Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation and Keystone Helicopter Corporation, alleging that the defendants chose to ignore multiple defects in the aircraft.

From the complaint filed on Feb 14th via Courthouse News: “The dangers from the lack of crashworthiness and defects in the engine, transmission and sprag clutch, throttle cables, engine attachments and absence of crashworthy features were unknown to the average user and consumer of this helicopter but well known to these defendants who made it a point to hide and deny and problems that could and did cause serious personal injury and death.

“Because of defects in the engine, throttle cable attachment and collective control, the helicopter did not enter autorotation as expected, it did not disengage smartly from the transmission so the engine the rotors slowed to a speed lower than would permit a safe autorotation, thus allowing the helicopter to drop like a stone to the ground below, killing all aboard,” the suit continues.

Gentry is seeking unspecified damages in the suit. A spokesperson for Sikorsky did not respond to a request for comment.