LOS ANGELES (Map, News) - A judge has ruled that the Federal Aviation Administration is liable for the 2003 crash of two helicopters that killed two people and injured a third.

U.S. District Court Judge Florence-Marie Cooper ruled Monday that an air traffic controller at the Torrance Municipal Airport gave confusing instructions that caused a rookie helicopter pilot to collide with another helicopter in front of the control tower.

Families of the three victims filed a civil lawsuit against the U.S. government, the Department of Transportation and the FAA.

Cooper wrote that a key factor in her decision was a recording of instructions controller Edward Weber gave to student pilot, Gavin Heyworth, just minutes before he crashed.

"But for that unfortunate communication, the accident never would have occurred," she wrote.

FAA spokesman Ian Gregor declined comment because the lawsuit is pending.

In an accident report released in May 2007, National Transportation Safety Board investigators concluded that the crash was caused by pilot error, specificially, Heyworth's "failure to comply with (air traffic control) clearance."

Heyworth, 26, was severely injured and two other men, Robert Bailey and Brett Boyd, were killed.

Cooper found that the control tower was understaffed on the afternoon of the crash, and controllers Weber and Cynthia Issa failed to adequately scan the runways to anticipate problems or debrief each other effectively.

Cooper found that Weber "negligently and carelessly failed to issue clear and concise instructions" to Heyworth, and found the supervisor on duty that afternoon, Timothy Abels, to be partly responsible for the poor communication.

In a statement, Heyworth's attorney, James Pocrass, said the recording illustrates "two confused traffic controllers not communicating with each other and giving inaccurate instructions to the pilots."

Pocrass said the plaintiffs would ask for a total of $20 million in damages.

Weber still works at the Torrance Airport, but attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.

Abels and Issa no longer work for the FAA, according to Pocrass. Attempts to find contact information for them were unsuccessful.