Families of 9 troops killed in amphibious vehicle sinking to sue

OCEANSIDE, Calif. (AP) — The families of eight Marines and one sailor who died when their amphibious assault vehicle sank off the Southern California coast last summer say they plan to sue the manufacturer.

Their lawyer told reporters Thursday that BAE Systems knew for a decade or more about a design defect that made it impossible to get out of the 26-ton amphibious vehicles when they sink.

A military investigation blamed shoddy maintenance of the equipment and a string of human errors. The lawyer for the families says the troops were trapped inside for 45 minutes before the vehicle sank.

The manufacturer declined to comment on the expected lawsuit but offered sympathies to the families.