CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A North Carolina judge has ordered $50 million be paid to the family of a Charlotte TV station meteorologist who was killed in a helicopter crash three years ago after finding the companies that owned and operated the aircraft liable in his widow’s wrongful death lawsuit.
Following an evidentiary hearing earlier in the week, state Superior Court Judge Forrest Bridges issued a judgment order Thursday directing insurers for the Total Traffic & Weather Network, iHeartCommunications, and iHeartMedia to make the payment within the next two months.
WBTV meteorologist Jason Myers and pilot Chip Tayag died in November 2022 after the Robinson R44 helicopter crashed along a Charlotte-area interstate. The flight’s purpose was to provide Myers video training over a simulated news scene, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
Jillian Myers initially sued the companies and a maintenance facility in March 2023 for the death of her 41-year-old husband, with whom they had four children. The maintenance facility was later removed as a defendant.
A National Transportation Safety Board report last year determined the probable cause of the crash was inadequate inspections, resulting in an eventual loosening of hardware and subsequent loss of helicopter control. A post-crash examination of the flight controls showed hardware that should have been connected to a part on