A case started in a California district court on behalf of some of the relatives who died when an Air France flight 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1 2009.
Intel and Motorola are co-defendants in the action – it also names Air France, Airbus, Honeywell, Thales, Rockwell Collins, Hamilton Sundstrand, General Electric, Goodrich Corp, Dupon, Judd Wire and Raychem Co.
The complaints relate to aircraft’s air data inertial reference units (ADIRU) and flight control computers. It’s alleged that the ADIRUs, microprocessors and other components “failed to adequately filter out inaccurate data and provided erroneous information; the microprocessors used in the flight control computers, ADIRUs and other components prevented the installed software from functioning properly and created inaccurate data” and so failed “properly detect and warn of the accumulation of ice on the aircraft”.
It’s alleged Intel designed, manufactured, assembled, marketed and sol component parts including but not limited to the microprocessors in the ADIRUs and flight control computers. “The microprocessors and other component parts designed and manufactured by Intel were defective when they left the custody and control of Intel, and a proximate cause of the crash,” the filing says.
It’s alleged Motorola designed products and component parts on the aircraft including but not limited to microprocessors, ADIRUs and flight control computers and they were defective too. Count three alleges negligence against all the defendents except Air France, saying that they knew components they supplied were defective.
“As a direct and proximate result of Defendents’ negligence, the subject aircraft crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1 2009, killing plaintiffs’ decedents, causing severe terror and pain prior to impact, and resulting in both personal and pecuniary injuries, in an amount to be proven at trial.” the filing says.
