David Durenberger: “I rise today in strong support of S. 1458, the General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1993. Under this bill, as amended…”

“I rise today in strong support of S. 1458, the General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1993. Under this bill, as amended, no civil action can be brought for damages arising out of a general aviation accident if the accident occurred more than 18 years after the aircraft was delivered to its first purchaser. In the case of component parts, no civil action may be brought more than 18 years after the date of the replacement or addition. I am told that most planes by that time have had several owners, at least three major overhauls and on average accumulated 6,000 hours of flying time. I became a cosponsor of S. 1458 because I believe that unreasonable product liability costs associated with the domestic manufacturing of general aviation aircraft have been the single most important factor contributing to the decline in U.S. production of light airplanes. From 1978 to 1992, American general aviation manufacturers spent as much to defend product liability suits as they had spent to develop new aircraft from 1945 to 1978. As a result, American production of private airplanes declined from 17,000 in 1979 to less than 1,700 in 1989. Over 100,000 industry and related jobs were lost during that same period. S. 1458 has the strong support of both manufacturers and organized labor.”