In Mobil Oil Corp. v. Higginbotham (1978) 436 U.S. 618, the court held that in an action for wrongful death on the high seas, the appropriate measure of damages is that established by DOHSA. There, passengers on a helicopter flight were killed in a crash over the high seas. The plaintiffs, decedents' widows, sought damages for loss of society under the general maritime law. The court found that, because DOHSA represented Congress's considered judgment on the issue of recovery of damages for wrongful death on the high seas, the plaintiffs were limited to pecuniary losses. Thus, the plaintiffs could not supplement their DOHSA recovery with claims brought pursuant to the general maritime law. ( Id. at pp. 623-625.)