CHARLESTON – A widow of an Army veteran has filed another lawsuit related to a 2022 helicopter crash that left six people dead during Logan’s annual Freedom Festival.
Susan M. Sandhoff, as administrator of the estate of Donald R. Sandhoff, filed her complaint May 10 in Kanawha Circuit Court against Appalachian Power Company, United Affiliates Corporation and Marpat Aviation LLC.
Donald Sandhoff and five others on board died in the crash, which occurred June 22, 2022. Four other lawsuits have been filed by estates of victims. The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report on the crash said the helicopter hit two power cables before crashing into a rock face. The final NTSB report has not been released.
“Susan Sandhoff’s husband, a 22-year Army veteran, was killed when the helicopter he was riding in struck a 90-year-old out-of-service unmarked APCo transmission line in Southern West Virginia, causing the Huey aircraft to crash and be engulfed by fire,” attorney L. Dante diTrapano told The West Virginia Record. “This completely avoidable catastrophe caused the death of the pilot and all five passengers.
“We look forward to proving our case in court.”
According to the complaint, Sandhoff enjoyed traveling to West Virginia to attend the Huey Enthusiasts Reunion in Logan County where he enjoyed the camaraderie of fellow helicopter pilots who also had served in the military. He was a passenger on the helicopter that day when it struck the unmarked electrical transmission line near the Blair Mountain Highway, crashed to the ground and burst into flames. Everyone aboard died.
The complaint says the power lines hadn’t been used for decades.
“Neither defendant APCo nor defendant UAC removed the overhead transmission lines (and supporting towers), and said defendants permitted the supporting towers to become overgrown with vegetation,” the complaint states. “Given that the transmission lines were unmarked, the supporting towers and transmission lines were not conspicuous.”
Susan Sandhoff accuses all three defendants of negligence, and she accuses Appalachian Power of negligence per se. Marpat owned and operated the Huey helicopter.
She seeks general damages, special damages, punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interests, court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
Sandhoff is being represented by diTrapano and David Carriger of Calwell Luce diTrapano in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Kenneth Ballard.
The preliminary NTSB investigation report says the Bell UH-1B helicopter flight departed Logan County Airport and crashed on a rural road about 3.7 miles northeast of the airport at about 4:57 p.m.
“Much of the wreckage was consumed in a postcrash fire,” the report states. “The accident flight was the last planned flight of the day. The route for that flight was different from the tour paths that had been flown previously that day.”
It also says the helicopter was not required to be equipped with either a cockpit voice recorder or a flight data recorder. Previous lawsuits said the power lines were run at or above 200 feet above the ground, which is in violation of Federal Aviation Administration rules, and should have been marked with warning devices to protect aircraft.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 24-C-567