Summary

Frank Curtis Cherry, Jr. and his son, Frank Curtis Cherry, III were ordered jailed for their role in making defective rotor blades, causing a helicopter crash resulting in the deaths of the pilot and sole passenger. The two men pleaded guilty October 18, 2000 to charges that they falsified the airworthiness certificate of two helicopters and rotor blades to conceal their poor condition. Cherry Jr., was ordered by an U.S. District Court judge in Los Angeles to serve 18 months in prison, while his son received a 14–month jail term.