A man who crashed a snowmobile into a parked Black Hawk helicopter is suing the government for $9.5M

BOSTON — Jeff Smith was whizzing along on a snowmobile one evening a few years back when something dark appeared in front of him. “The last five years, there’s been surgery, recovery, surgery, recovery,” said Smith, who lost the use of his left arm, suffered respiratory issues since the crash, and hasn’t been able to work full time. “Our argument from the beginning has been that it’s incompatible to have a helicopter land on an active snowmobile trail,” Smith’s attorney, Douglas Desjardins, said, adding that the lawsuit was filed after the government failed to respond to their damages claim. “The Army internal investigation showed pretty clearly that the crew knew that they were landing right before or right after on an active snowmobile trail,” he said. I remember him gasping for breath.” “As soon as I heard that somebody on a snowmobile hit the helicopter, I knew it was my brother,” Richard Smith said.