A defense contractor is suing the Navy for refusing to pay for damages caused to a high-tech blimp after a part of a World War II-era hangar collapsed on the blimp and destroyed it.
Aeroscraft Aeronautical Systems was constructing and storing the 266-foot-long airship in a historic hangar at Marine Corps Air Station in Tustin, California, when a 50-by-70-foot section of the roof fell onto the airship in October 2013, according to court documents. Now, the company is trying to recoup $65 million in damages by taking the Navy to court. Aeroscraft Aeronautical Systems filed the lawsuit on March 9 in a U.S. federal court in California.
This is not the company’s first attempt to get the Navy to pay for the damages. A Navy letter dated Dec. 18, 2014, shows that company officials tried and failed to obtain $60 million for the busted blimp.
Once complete, the blimp was supposed to carry a high-tech system that would allow it to function as a “flying submarine,” according to the company website.
• Maggie Ybarra can be reached at mybarra@washingtontimes.com.
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