Jury Awards $11.6 Million to Helicopter Crash Victims

By Andrew Weatherford

Published on August 07, 2009

In a verdict reached last month, a jury in Polk County, Iowa has awarded a combined $11.6 million to the victims of a June 2006 helicopter crash. Tony Wilson, a movie producer, was awarded $4.2 million for his injuries. Robert Schlotzhauer, a cameraman, was killed in the crash and his widow was awarded $7.2 million.

Wilson and Schlotzhauer were filming The Final Season, a movie about the 1991 Norway High School state championship baseball team. They were flying in a helicopter piloted by Richard Green of Rital Copter Service during a production shoot. According to the Des Moines Register, the helicopter crashed after hitting power lines along U.S. Highway 151.

Green was found to be completely at fault for Wilson's injuries and is required to pay all of his settlement. The helicopter pilot was found to be 75 percent responsible for Schlotzhauer's death and is required to pay three-fourths of the settlement awarded to his widow. The remaining 25 percent is to be paid by the owners of The Final Season.

The civil trial lasted five weeks and the $11.6 million settlement is believed to be one of the largest in Iowa state history.

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