$50 million settlement reached in helicopter death of WBTV meteorologist
.JPG "WBTV meteorologist Jason Myers was killed in a news helicopter crash in 2022.")
For 13 seconds, Jason Myers knew the helicopter was going down and that he was about to die, according to a final judgment in his wrongful death lawsuit.
As those seconds slowed, the 41-year-old probably thought about his entire life, an expert testified. Of becoming WBTV’s meteorologist in Charlotte. Of meeting his soulmate and raising four children. And of everything he’d yet to do — like becoming the next Al Roker or Jim Cantore.
The undeniable fear he felt as the news station’s helicopter plummeted toward Interstate 77 is immeasurable, North Carolina Superior Court Judge Forrest Bridges said in his final judgement Thursday. So is the impact of his death on his wife and the four teens who lost a dad they say was also “our counselor, our protector, and the heart of our family.”
Bridges approved a $50 million settlement in the wrongful death lawsuit Jillian Myers filed in 2023 after she was widowed. TTWN and iHeart Media — which maintained the helicopter that went down because of a faulty, ignored nut — will pay it.
Jason Myers died when a WBTV helicopter on a training flight crashed on Interstate 77 on Nov. 22, 2022. Pilot Chip Tayag flew Myers above Charlotte and started to do 360 degree rotations. In 13 seconds, the helicopter fell and crashed into the ground. Both died.
TTWN Media and iHeart Media used a nut that “would crack and come apart” after manufacturer Robinson Helicopter Co. said it was “known to be defective,” according to a news release from the Myers family. Court documents suggest it “may have been loose for multiple flights before the accident.”
The National Transportation Safety Board’s crash investigation determined a loose bolt and other hardware had been improperly installed for three years and caused the wreck, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
“Even TTWN’s own witnesses admitted that the helicopter was not airworthy on the date of the crash, and Mr. Myers’s death was both predictable and totally preventable,” said attorney Gary C. Robb in a statement.
Robb also represented Kobe Bryant’s widow after the star NBA player and his daughter died in a helicopter crash in January 2020.
“No settlement can ever make right what was taken from us,” Jillian Myers said in a statement. “Our focus now is on healing, honoring Jason’s legacy, and ensuring our children have the support they need.”
In a GoFundMe made after her husband’s death, Jillian Myers wrote: “Jason was every bit as bighearted, gracious, and kind as he appeared on your television screens, and he was larger than life at home. He did so many things well, but he loved best of all.”
This story was originally published September 19, 2025 at 1:11 PM.
