Wife of Marine killed in North Carolina Osprey crash files lawsuit

ATLANTA - The wife of a Marine helicopter mechanic killed in the crash of an MV-22 Osprey in December 2000 has sued the craft&#39;s manufacturers, calling the tilt-rotor aircraft ``defective and unreasonably dangerous.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Karen Runnels of Morven, in south Georgia, filed the lawsuit in Fulton County State Court Tuesday in the death of her husband, 25-year-old Staff Sargeant Avely Runnels. <br> <br> Runnels was killed with three other Marines December 11, 2000 when their Osprey crashed and burned on a night training flight near Jacksonville, North Carolina. <br> <br> The V-22 Osprey can take off like a helicopter and fly like an airplane, with the Marine Corps hoping to replace its aged helicopter fleet with the craft. <br> <br> The Osprey is built by Boeing&#39;s helicopter division in suburban Philadelphia and Bell Helicopter Textron Incorporated, based in Fort Worth, Texas. <br> <br> The suit names as defendants Boeing Corporation, Bell Helicopter Textron, BAE Incorporated and four of its divisions, as well as 12 contractors who worked on the aircraft&#39;s design and assembly. Those defendants have not yet been identified. <br> <br> Spokesmen for Boeing and Bell Helicopter said their companies had not seen the suit and were not prepared to comment on it. Officials at BAE Systems in Arlington, Virginia did not immediately return calls seeking comment.