WASHINGTON (AP) -- The companies being sued in the largest offshore oil spill in history are accusing the government of mishandling a key piece of evidence.
In a new federal court document, the company that owned the drilling rig, Transocean, says federal investigators aren't adequately preserving evidence from the rig's failed blowout preventer, a key safety device. It's now sitting at a NASA facility in New Orleans. How exactly it will be studied is the subject of a court hearing set for Thursday in federal court in New Orleans.
Earlier court records obtained by The Associated Press show that the companies are upset about the government's plans. They complained unsuccessfully to a judge about the government shipping the device to a NASA facility that they said is not equipped to house or test it.
