John Danforth: “I ask the Senator to respond to a point that was made just before the break for lunch with respect to the effect that…”

“I ask the Senator to respond to a point that was made just before the break for lunch with respect to the effect that this amendment might have on safety in manufacturing general aviation aircraft. The point that was made by opponents was that this really is a safety issue and that somehow manufacturing would be less safe if this amendment were adopted. But what I hear the Senator saying is that most accidents in general aviation are not related to the construction or the design of the aircraft, and that the overwhelming percentage of those accidents that are related to manufacturing/design occur in the first 8 years of the aircraft's operation, and that a tiny percentage have to do with anything that happens after 15 years. So my question to the Senator is, In the real world of manufacturing and the exercise of care in putting a product on the market, is it the Senator's view that this amendment would have anything at all to do with the real world of safety?”