ATLANTA - The wife of a Marine helicopter mechanic killed in the crash of an MV-22 Osprey in December 2000 has settled a lawsuit against the manufacturers, her lawyers said Tuesday. <br>
<br>
Karen Runnels of Morven, in south Georgia, filed suit in Fulton County State Court in April in the death of her husband, Staff Sgt. Avely Runnels, 25. <br>
<br>
The out-of-court settlement, for an undisclosed amount, was the final agreement reached by the families of 23 Marines killed in two Osprey crashes and the manufacturers, Boeing Corp. and Bell Helicopter Textron. <br>
<br>
Runnels was killed with three other Marines Dec. 11, 2000 when their Osprey went down and burned on a night training flight near Jacksonville, N.C. The lawsuit contended that failure of the hydraulic system and onboard software caused the crash. <br>
<br>
The V-22 Osprey can take off like a helicopter and fly like an airplane. The Marine Corps hoped to replace its aged helicopter fleet with the craft. <br>
<br>
The Osprey was grounded after the North Carolina crash, which occurred eight months after an Arizona Osprey crash killed 19 Marines. A total of four Ospreys have crashed, leading many critics to contend that the aircraft is dangerous.
