Troy Gentry’s wife, Angela, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation and Keystone Helicopter Corporation, the manufacturers who made the helicopter the Montgomery Gentry duo member was flying in when it crashed, resulting in his death.
According to the lawsuit, the helicopter Troy Gentry was riding in had not passed safety tests, a fact the company knew and willfully ignored.
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“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,” the lawsuit reads (quote via Courthouse News).
“Because of defects in the engine,” it continues, “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.”
Troy Gentry passed away on Sept. 8, 2017, in New Jersey. He and his duo partner, Eddie Montgomery, were in the Garden State to perform at the Flying W Airport & Resort in Medford that night. The singer was removed from the crash and taken to the hospital, where he passed away from his injuries a short time later. Gentry was killed along with the helicopter’s pilot, James Evan Robinson.
Montgomery is currently on the band’s Here’s to You Tour, electing to continue with the group in honor of Troy Gentry’s legacy.
“I always thought I was going to be first,” Montgomery said. “We talked about it because I like to live on the wild side — me and him both. I wanted to keep going because I know T-Roy would be right here going, ‘I’m going to kick your ass if you don’t get out there and keep this going.’ I can’t wait to get out and play the music.”
Montgomery Gentry’s final album, Here’s to You, was released earlier this month. Dates on the Here’s to You Tour are available on Montgomery Gentry’s website.
