A settlement has been reached in a whistleblower class action lawsuit brought against Conax Florida Corp who is accused of submitting false claims to the government for improperly tested inertia reels and non-conforming voltage references.
Under the settlement agreement, Conax will pay $2 million to the government. In addition, Conax has reached an agreement with the Defense Logistics Agency to provide the government with 4,969 new electronic parts for use with parachute releases, which are worth up to $2.4 million. The whistleblowers that filed the suit together will receive up to a total of $810,478.
The case was originally filed in December 2008. The government's lawsuit alleged that the inertia reels were not tested in accordance with contractual requirements and that Conax used non-conforming voltage references. The voltage reference is an integral part of the water-activated parachute release, designed to protect unconscious or injured aircrew members who parachute into salt water. These devices are intended to automatically separate parachutes from aircrew members when they are physically unable to do so. If parachutes are not released, they may fill with water and drag aircrew members underwater.
