The Region : Family Files Suit Over B-1 Crash Death
The widow and children of B-1 bomber test pilot Tommie Douglas Benefield Jr. have filed a wrongful death suit against makers of components of the aircraft, which crashed in the Mojave Desert near Boron last Aug. 29. The suit claims that the components were negligently, wantonly and recklessly designed and tested, causing them to malfunction and leading to the crash. Benefield and two crew members ejected from the falling bomber in an escape capsule that slammed into the desert floor, killing the pilot and injuring the others. The suit, filed on behalf of Suzanne Benefield and her children, Terry Allen and Tommie Jr., names Ordinance Engineering Associates and 20 other unnamed individuals as defendants.
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