AEROSPACE

McDonnell Sues United, GE Over Crash: McDonnell Douglas Corp. claims United Airlines and engine maker General Electric Co. are to blame for a DC-10 crash seven years ago in Sioux City, Iowa. The St. Louis-based airplane maker wants back money it contributed to a pool to settle lawsuits from the crash. In a lawsuit filed in federal court in St. Louis this week, McDonnell Douglas claims Fairfield, Conn.-based GE negligently designed, built and tested the engine that was blamed for the crash and that Chicago-based United failed to properly inspect and maintain the plane. The 1989 crash killed 112 people; 184 survived. About $300 million in claims have been paid to survivors, crew members and relatives of those killed, said a lawyer for some of the survivors. Two months after the crash, the three firms reached joint agreement to provide money to settle crash claims. The suit wasn’t specific about how much McDonnell Douglas paid into the pool.