BlimpsAirship maker suing the U.S. Navy for loss of an advanced blimp in roof collapse
Aeroscraft Aeronautical Systems has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Navy following the destruction of their Aeros airship. It was destroyed when a roof a 300,000 square foot Second World War-era hanger at Tustin Marine Corps Air Station in Tustin, California, collapsed. Aeroscraft is seeking to reclaim all losses as well as an unspecified amount meant to compensate the company for the $3 billion capital financing plan which was halted after the airship was destroyed. The base closed in 1999, but the property is still owned by the Navy, which leased buildings and hangars on the base to private companies.
Aeroscraft Aeronautical Systems has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Navy following the destruction of their Aeros airship. It was destroyed when a roof collapse at a Navy-owned hanger at Tustin Marine Corps Air Station in Tustin, California.
Navy Times reports that the collapse occurred in October 2013, when the craft was parked inside a 300,000 square foot Second World War-era hanger located on the base. Pieces of roof feel seventeen stories and completely destroyed the 266-foot lighter-than-air cargo vehicle, which incorporates advanced buoyancy design technologies.
The base closed in 1999, but the property is still owned by the Navy, with Aeroscraft leasing one-third of the site to store the craft, which used funding from the Department of Defense (DOD) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The Navy has said that it is not responsible for the damages, thus prompting the company to file the damages lawsuit on 9 March, arguing that they have proof that the Navy has funded a structural evaluation of the hangar sixteen years earlier. The evaluation had determined that the roof was in need of “critical repair.”
The company searched public records for maintenance documents, which revealed that the roof had been a “known and continuing problem associated with the building” and had previously seen repairs in 1975 and 1987.
Aeroscraft is seeking to reclaim all losses as well as an unspecified amount meant to compensate the company for the $3 billion capital financing plan which was halted after the airship was destroyed. The navy secured the hanger and prevented access to it for more than eight months due to public safety concerns, barring the company from accessing the wreckage.
“Filing the complaint was really the only option that we had” said Aeroscraft attorney James Gallagher. “If those predicate facts are accurate, the Navy should step up to the plate and take responsibility.”
He added that he is “preparing for litigation that would likely run more than a year.”
Gallagher has represented nearly forty aerospace contractors in disputes with the government, mostly against the DOD.
The company originally submitted a claim last summer to cover losses under the Federal Tort Claims Act, but the Navy had not denied it until 18 December. The DOD gave no reason as to why that was the case.
The Navy has directed questions regarding the matter to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Nicole Navas, a spokesperson for the DOJ, declined to comment, citing that the case is under review.
