Hartford, Conn. ? Relatives of two Navy sailors killed in a helicopter crash two years ago have filed lawsuits against the companies that built the aircraft, accusing them of negligence.

The lawsuits against United Technologies Corp., its subsidiary Sikorsky Aircraft, and General Electric Co. were filed this past week in federal court in Bridgeport. Each seeks $10 million in damages.

Lt. Peter Ober, 27, of Jacksonville, Fla., and Samuel Patrick Cox, 21, an aviation electrician’s mate 3rd class from Kansas City, Mo., were aboard an MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter that went down near the Navy base at Sigonella, Italy, in July 2003.

The lawsuits were filed by Ober’s wife, Alicia, of Virginia, and Cox’ parents, Joseph Cox and Mary Jo Thornley Cox of Kansas City.

They claim that since 1993 there have been at least 16 in-flight fires or related problems in helicopters that were powered by GE engines. The problems led to a study, but the issues were not fixed and crews were not instructed on emergency procedures if the engine failed, the lawsuits say.

“The fact that you are manufacturing a product for the military doesn’t mean that you don’t have to manufacture it safely and design it properly and put it together properly,” said William Bloss, a Bridgeport attorney representing the Cox family. “These families are doing a service to other users of that type of military equipment.”

The crash also killed Cmdr. Kevin A. Bianchi of Maplewood, N.J., and Aviation Structural Mechanic 1st Class Brian P. Gibson of Richmond, Va.

Messages seeking comment from Hartford-based UTC and Stratford-based Sikorsky were not immediately returned Saturday.

Deborah Case, a spokeswoman for GE’s jet engine division, said the company’s legal team had not been notified about the lawsuits.