North Carolina judge orders $50 million payment in helicopter crash death suit
Insurers to pay the amount within two months; remaining damages tied to excess coverage continue to chase
A North Carolina judge on Thursday ordered $50 million to be paid to the widow of a Charlotte television meteorologist who was killed in a November 2022 helicopter crash, finding the companies that owned and operated the aircraft liable in a wrongful-death suit. Superior Court Judge Forrest Bridges directed the defendants’ insurers to make the payment within the next two months, as part of a broader judgment that had initially valued the case at more than $126 million.
The crash occurred when a Robinson R44 helicopter owned by Total Traffic & Weather Network and operated by iHeartCommunications and iHeartMedia went down along a Charlotte-area interstate while the pilot and the meteorologist were filming video training for a simulated news scene. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of the crash was inadequate inspections that allowed hardware to loosen, leading to a loss of helicopter control. A post-crash examination revealed hardware that should have connected a component on the main rotor was disconnected or missing, according to the NTSB report.
Jillian Myers, the widow and mother of four, filed the wrongful-death lawsuit in March 2023, initially naming the networks, the operators, and a maintenance facility. The maintenance facility was later removed as a defendant. The evidentiary hearing preceding the judge’s order reinforced the NTSB findings, with plaintiffs’ experts expanding on the cause of the crash and attributing responsibility to the remaining defendants for operational and maintenance errors.
The $126.3 million judgment against the defendants reflects a $105 million settlement valuation agreed to by the parties, plus accrued interest. However, Bridges’ order specifies that the defendants’ primary insurers will pay $50 million, leaving the potential for recovery against excess or umbrella carriers. Those carriers reportedly told the defendants they would not provide additional layers of coverage for the wrongful-death claims.
In a news release accompanying the order, Jillian Myers said, “This settlement does not bring back the man we lost, but it does represent a formal acknowledgment of the profound impact his death has had on our family.” The family’s attorney, Gary C. Robb, emphasized that the case was about more than money and hopes the outcome will spur industry-wide improvements.
Robb said, “Myers' family had hoped the lawsuit would prompt improved operations and maintenance of helicopters used by television and weather operations, and ultimately save lives. That is already happening, and we believe the industry got the message.”
The case underscores ongoing concerns about the safety of helicopter operations used in weather coverage and media productions. The wind through the courtroom has not closed the door on the remaining insurance layers, as the family seeks to pursue any additional recovery against excess carriers. The judge’s decision affirms a significant milestone in a long-running dispute that centers on accountability in the wake of a fatal crash that claimed the life of a local meteorologist, who was raised in North Carolina and had worked in Raleigh, Texas, and Virginia before returning to the Charlotte region.
Officials and industry observers note that the ruling could encourage stricter maintenance regimes and more rigorous inspections for helicopters used in broadcast operations. While the immediate focus is on resolving the wrongful-death claim, advocates say the broader implications may include heightened oversight of maintenance practices, pilot qualifications, and operational standards for media-owned aviation assets that serve newsrooms across the country.