BALTIMORE, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- The state of Maryland has sued the federal government charging that air traffic controllers were responsible for a 2008 medical helicopter crash.
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, The Baltimore Sun reported. The state and its insurer, the Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania, are the plaintiffs.
The Maryland State Police helicopter crashed as it flew toward Andrews Air Force Base, Md., with two people who had been hurt in a car crash. The pilot, a paramedic, an emergency medical technician and one of the patients were killed, while another patient was severely injured.
An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board found pilot error and poor training were to blame for the crash, which occurred in bad weather. But the state's lawsuit says air traffic controllers committed a number of errors after the pilot said the weather prevented him from reaching his intended destination, a hospital in Prince George's County, and that he would have to divert to Andrews.
