How much does product liability add to the cost of an airplane these days? Even the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) isn’t sure.
“We do not know anyone who has those numbers. We are looking for them as well,” says Katie Pribyl, GAMA’s director of communications.
“Prior to GARA, Beech Aircraft estimated that the cost of litigation added $70,000 to the cost of each new aircraft,” she says. “The chairman of Cessna at that time said on an airplane selling for $85,000, approximately $40,000 to $50,000 of that was for liability.”