NEW YORK (AP) — Relatives of a man who died when a sightseeing helicopter crashed and sank in a New York City river have settled a lawsuit for $90 million, agreeing to reduce a jury award in order to foreclose appeals and end the case.
Court records show a Manhattan judge approved the settlement Wednesday in the wrongful death case of Trevor Cadigan, seven years after he died at age 26.
Last fall, a Manhattan jury awarded $116 million to Cadigan's relatives, but defendants later took steps to challenge the award. The settlement stops those challenges, and Cadigan family lawyer Gary C. Robb said Thursday that his clients felt it was time to close the case.
“Their primary objective was twofold, and that is, one, to ensure accountability for what happened to Trevor, and also to shine a bright light on dangerous helicopter operator practices and induce them to do a better, safer job,” Robb said by phone. “And they accomplished both objectives, we believe.”
The aircraft, which had no doors, plunged into the East River after a passenger restraint tether snagged on a floor-mounted fuel shut-off switch, stopping the engine, a National Transportation Safety Board investigation found. The pilot was able to release his seat belt and escape the sinking aircraft, but the five passengers were trapped in safety harnesses.
Killed were Cadigan; his friend Brian McDaniel, 26; Carla Vallejos Blanco, 29; Tristan Hill, 29; and Daniel Thompson, 34. Cadigan, a journalist, had recently moved to New York from Dallas.
The chief executive at FlyNYON, which arranged the flight, said the company had made numerous changes over the past few years to improve safety, including changing safety harnesses, installing a new quick release system, switching to a different model of helicopter, adding training for pilots and hiring a safety officer.
“The introspection and self-critical analysis we have undertaken in the last six-and-a-half years have shaped our view of what it means to be an industry leader, and we’re a safer, smarter, and stronger company for it,” CEO Patrick Day said in an email to The Associated Press.
Messages seeking comment were sent to lawyers for Liberty Helicopters, which owned the helicopter involved in the crash and supplied the pilot. Another defendant, flotation device maker Dart Aerospace, declined to comment.
After the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily grounded doors-off flights with tight seat restraints. Such flights later resumed with requirements for restraints that can be released with a single action.
FILE - Personnel with the NTSB look at the scene of a submerged helicopter that crashed in New York's East River, Monday, March 12, 2018. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
FILE - A helicopter that crashed and sank in the water is hoisted by crane from the East River onto a barge, Monday, March 12, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are hanging near their records Wednesday as oil prices fall and ease the pressure on households and businesses worldwide.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% below its all-time high set the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 183 points, or 0.4%, as of 12:56 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% lower.
Stocks of companies with big fuel bills helped lead the way on hopes that lower oil prices will remove a big drag on their profits. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings climbed 5.7%, and United Airlines rallied 7.3%. Delta Air Lines rose 3.7% and is on track to set an all-time high.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil fell 4.1% to $95.48 after the ceasefire between the United States and Iran appeared to hold despite the U.S. military launching what it called “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran. A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude fell even more, 4.2%, to $89.69 on hopes that the United States and Iran can reach an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and allow oil tankers to exit the Persian Gulf for deliveries again.
Stocks have been able to run to records despite the painful inflation and uncertainty caused by high oil prices largely because companies have reported surprisingly strong profits for the start of 2026, and the forecast is for them to continue.
Bath & Body Works rallied 11.2%, and Abercrombie & Fitch climbed 11.8% after both reported bigger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. That's even as U.S. consumers continue to say they're feeling discouraged about the economy and inflation.
Lululemon Athletica rose 3.6% after reaching a deal with its founder, Chip Wilson, where it will add a former chief marketing officer of ESPN and a former co-CEO of On to its board of directors.
On the losing side of Wall Street was Dick's Sporting Goods, which dropped 4.9% despite delivering a profit for the latest quarter that edged past expectations. Analysts pointed to how much profit it wrung out of each $1 in revenue, which some called a bit weak.
Oil-and-gas stocks also sank, hurt by the dropping prices for crude. Exxon Mobil fell 1.4%, and Chevron slipped 0.8%. Halliburton dropped 3% to bring its gain for the year so far back toward 40%.
In the bond market, Treasury yields eased after falling oil prices took pressure off inflation. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.48% from 4.50% late Tuesday and from 4.67% roughly a week ago.
It’s a respite following recent gains for yields in bond markets worldwide, which threatened to slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and all kinds of other investments. High yields have already forced the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate to its most expensive level since last summer, and they could curtail companies’ borrowing to build the artificial-intelligence data centers that have supported the U.S. economy’s growth recently.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed across Europe and Asia. South Korea's Kospi was one of the world's best performers and jumped 2.3% after SK Hynix, which is a big beneficiary of the artificial-intelligence boom, soared 9.3%.
A day before, Micron Technology surged to become the latest Big Tech company to be worth more than $1 trillion on AI excitement. Its stock has more than tripled already in 2026, and analysts at UBS said Tuesday it could soar even more because of how fundamentally AI has improved demand for computer memory.
AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.
Trader Edward Curran, left, and specialist Meric Greenbaum, center, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, May 25, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A dealer walks past near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A dealer walks past near the screens showing the foreign exchange rates at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A dealer walks past near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A dealer stands near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
