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LA Times

Discovery Settles Suit Over Fatal Helicopter Crash

Sep 9, 2015  •  Post A Comment

Following a helicopter crash in which three people died on the set of a TV show, Discovery has settled a wrongful death lawsuit over the death of a cast member on the show, the Los Angeles Times reports.

“The family of Michael Donatelli, a 45-year-old decorated Iraq war veteran, sued Discovery after the crash in Acton, which occurred during filming of a Discovery Channel military show with the working title ‘Lone Operator,'” the report notes. “The helicopter was flying close to the ground when it hit a slope, killing Donatelli, cameraman Darren Rydstrom and pilot David Gibbs.”

The 2013 crash is described in the report as “the deadliest accident on a film set in Southern California since the 1982 ‘Twilight Zone: The Movie’ crash near Santa Clarita that killed actor Vic Morrow and two children.

An attorney for the Donatelli family said the settlement was approved Tuesday by a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge. Terms of the settlement were not revealed.

The settlement also reportedly ends a suit brought by the family of Rydstrom.

Donatelli was working as a consultant and narrator on the show. After the crash, his family alleged that producers failed to take adequate safety precautions.

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