“Attorney Gary Robb is by far the most successful helicopter crash lawyer in the country.”

Unsurpassed Record-Setting Helicopter Results. Nationwide Aviation Trial Firm.

Hawaii Helicopter Crash Lawyers

With over $2 billion in results, including the record largest helicopter crash jury verdicts and settlements in United States history, our success is unsurpassed. And we were honored to represent the family of NBA legend Kobe Bryant for his death along with his daughter Gianna in that high profile helicopter crash.

When a helicopter goes down in Hawaii, whether on a tour flight, a medical transport mission, or a utility operation, families are left with life-altering loss and a fast-moving defense effort aimed at controlling the narrative. The right legal team is the one built to investigate the technical truth and hold the responsible parties to it.

Robb & Robb is the preeminent national aviation trial firm with helicopter crash litigation as a core focus of our practice. We litigate catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases arising from preventable crashes, including those tied to product defects, maintenance breakdowns, operational failures, and post-crash fire.

Our Verdicts & Settlements

Record-Setting Results in Helicopter Accidents

We have obtained the two highest jury verdicts in U.S. history in helicopter crash trials ($350 million and $116 million), as well as the two highest pre-trial settlements in U.S. history ($100 million, Colorado and $100 million, Nevada), both for a single wrongful death and a single personal injury.

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Family Heritage, National Impact

Built by family and united in purpose, this nationally recognized aviation law firm is led by Gary and Anita Robb, alongside their son Andrew and his wife Brittany. Decades of focused experience, unmatched results, and fearless advocacy define their work. Together, they have secured landmark verdicts, shaped aviation safety standards, and earned a reputation as the leading authority in complex aviation litigation nationwide.

Stories from the Families We’ve Advocated For

At Robb & Robb, families place their trust in us during the most challenging moments of their lives. We honor that trust with steadfast dedication, combining compassion, clear guidance, and tenacious advocacy. Standing with families affected by aviation accidents, we fight for justice, accountability, and meaningful improvements in safety across the industry.

Aviation accidents require unmatched legal experience. If you or a loved one have been injured due to negligence, contact Robb & Robb online or call (877) 749-4999 to explore your legal options.

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We Wrote the Book We Defined the Modern Practice of Helicopter Crash Litigation

"This book is an essential volume...by accomplished trial lawyer Gary Robb, who has used these same techniques in a brilliant career..." - International Press Publications -

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Robb & Robb’s Aviation Trial Team

Gary C. Robb(Founding Partner) is a board-certified civil trial lawyer, author of Helicopter Crash Litigation (Third Edition, 2023), and a record-setting aviation trial attorney whose results include the two highest helicopter crash verdicts in U.S. history ($350 million and $116 million) and $100 million pretrial settlements for both a single wrongful death (2024) and a single personal injury (2018).
Anita Porte Robb(Founding Partner) is a nationally respected trial lawyer recognized by The National Law Journal as one of the Top Ten women trial lawyers in the country. She has helped lead landmark aviation crash cases nationwide, including high-profile wrongful death and catastrophic injury litigation and obtained U.S. record verdicts and settlements.
Andrew C. Robb(Partner) focuses on aviation accidents and has litigated high-exposure cases against national and multinational defendants, including the $100 million Udall wrongful death settlement and the $116 million Cadigan helicopter crash verdict, as well as the successful pretrial resolution of the Bryant family’s helicopter crash case.
Brittany Sanders Robb(Partner) handles nationwide catastrophic injury and wrongful death litigation, and she has been involved in major aviation matters including the $100 million Udall settlement, the $116 million Cadigan verdict, and the successful pretrial resolution on behalf of the Bryant family.

Helicopter Accident Cases We Handle

Robb & Robb represents victims and families in a wide range of civil helicopter crash cases, including:

Air ambulance crashes
Sightseeing and tour helicopter crashes
News and media helicopter crashes
“Doors-off” sightseeing helicopter crashes
Private helicopters (owner-operated aircraft)
Chartered helicopter flights and corporate transportation
Training and instructional flight crashes
Utility helicopter crashes and wire strikes
Film and aerial photography operations
Search-and-rescue and emergency response missions
Firefighting and fire suppression operations

Building a Strong Helicopter Crash Lawsuit

Helicopter crash claims are won with proof. The most important evidence is often technical, time-sensitive, and controlled by parties who have every incentive to shape what gets preserved and what gets ignored. Building a strong case typically requires securing and analyzing:

Wreckage and component handling records, including chain of custody and any teardown/examination documentation.
Maintenance logs and inspection history, including who performed the work and what standards applied.
Operational decision-making, including dispatch practices, route planning, weather planning, and mission pressure.
Aircraft design and crashworthiness issues, including whether a survivable impact became catastrophic due to post-crash fire.
Pilot training and company procedures, including whether policies encouraged risk or failed to address known hazards.

We Are the Country's Leading Law Firm on Helicopter Crash Resistant Fuel Systems (CRFS)

Our law firm has been on the leading edge of advocating for Crash Resistant Fuel Systems (CRFS) in helicopters for over 20 years (read about Mr. Robb’s work on CRFS in the Wall Street Journal). This technology has been available since the 1960s, but the helicopter industry has resisted utilizing it. As a result, even a routine hard landing can result in a devastating and disabling post-crash fire. We have handled many of these cases, including the two highest results in U.S. history, a $100 million cash settlement in 2024 in Nevada for the wrongful death of Jonathan Udall from post crash burn injuries during a Grand Canyon tour, a $100 million cash settlement in 2018 in Colorado for the 90% burn injuries to David Repsher in a 2015 helicopter crash, and one of the very first substantial settlements in 2001, $38 million for Chana Daskal's burn injuries sustained in a Grand Canyon helicopter crash.

On December 22, 2023, just prior to the scheduled Udall trial, Airbus for the first time offered its CRFS retrofits free of charge, to U.S. customers only. Mr. Robb has questioned Airbus’s action as too little too late.

Hawaii Helicopter Crash FAQ

What causes most helicopter crashes?

Many crashes involve a failure sequence rather than a single mistake, including mechanical breakdown, maintenance failure, operational decision-making, weather/visibility issues, obstacle impacts (including wire strikes), or a design/crashworthiness problem that turns survivable impact into fatal harm.

Who can be held responsible after a helicopter crash?

Depending on the evidence, liability may involve the:

Operator/tour company
Pilot
Maintenance provider
Manufacturer
Component suppliers
Ownership or parent entities
Other third parties (including fueling or ground-support or dispatch errors)

The key is identifying who controlled the risk that caused the crash, or worsened the outcome, and proving it with technical records and testimony that stands up in court.

What is “crashworthiness,” and why does it matter in helicopter cases?

Crashworthiness focuses on whether the helicopter’s design reasonably protected occupants in a survivable crash sequence. In many high-severity cases, the litigation centers on whether a fuel-system failure and post-crash fire caused catastrophic burn injuries that should have been prevented or reduced by safer design choices or available protections.

What compensation is available in a Hawaii helicopter crash case?

Depending on the facts, damages may include:

Medical costs and future care
Lost income and diminished earning capacity
Pain and suffering, disability/disfigurement
When a loved one is lost, wrongful death damages and funeral/burial expenses

Case value is driven by both severity and the strength of liability proof, especially when corporate defendants are involved.

How long do I have to file a helicopter crash lawsuit in Hawaii?

Hawaii has strict filing deadlines, and the correct deadline depends on the facts and the defendants involved. Different rules and procedural requirements or exceptions can apply in limited situations.

Even when a deadline appears manageable, aviation cases are time-sensitive because evidence can be lost or controlled early.

Do I have a case if the company says the crash was “unavoidable”?

Sometimes that’s a defensive script, not a conclusion. Many “unavoidable” claims fall apart when you examine maintenance decisions, known defect history, operational policies, training standards, and whether a post-impact fire or crashworthiness failure made the outcome far worse than it should have been.

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Robb & Robb in the News

Many cases handled successfully by the Firm’s attorneys have received national and international media attention, including featured stories and broadcasts on ABC News, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, the CBS Evening News, BBC, Good Morning America, NBC’s Today Show, CBS This Morning, U.S. News & World Report, CNN.com, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The National Law Journal, Lawyers Weekly USA, BNA Reporter, Law 360, Business Insider, The Missouri Lawyers Weekly, and The Kansas City Star, the Miami Herald, Las Vegas Review – Journal, as well as numerous news platforms posted and televised around the world.

Read Recent Media Coverage

Call for a Free Consultation, Call (877) 749-4999

Robb & Robb represents helicopter crash victims and families across Hawaii and the nation in catastrophic injury and wrongful death litigation.

Call (877) 749-4999 or contact us online to speak with a Hawaii helicopter crash attorney.

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Unsurpassed Record of Success

We have secured over $2 billion in verdicts and settlements, becoming aviation’s most influential safety advocate. Our record includes the two highest U.S. helicopter crash jury verdicts—$350 million and $116 million—and we are the only firm to recover $100 million or more for a single aviation death or injury in five separate jurisdictions nationwide.
Family Led, Nationally Recognized

Led by two generations of one family – husband and wife Founding Partners Gary C. Robb and Anita Porte Robb, their son and Partner Andrew C. Robb along with his wife, Partner Brittany Sanders Robb, this law firm is nationally recognized as the leader in aviation litigation. Guided by integrity, courage, and accountability, they have become a moral force, driving modern aviation reform and safer skies nationwide.
Leading Authority in Aviation Law
With decades of focused aviation litigation experience, this firm brings unparalleled knowledge to the most complex cases. Founding Partner Gary C. Robb authored the authoritative text on helicopter law, and the firms’ attorneys are widely regarded as the foremost experts in the field. No law firm is better equipped to navigate the technical, regulatory, and legal challenges that aviation cases is demand.