Cessna settles record-breaking lawsuit
Cessna settled a 13-year-old lawsuit stemming from the 1989 accident of a Cessna 185.

Cessna settled a 13-year-old lawsuit stemming from the 1989 accident of a Cessna 185. The plaintiffs–the pilot, his wife and a passenger–said the pilot’s seat slipped back during the takeoff, resulting in a crash that injured all three occupants. Last August, a Florida jury ordered Cessna to pay $480 million in damages, a general aviation record, according to AOPA, for what the jurors believed was a faulty seat-latching mechanism. Cessna denied the part was faulty and appealed the decision on grounds that the pilot failed to follow proper procedures. During the appeal process, the parties reached a settlement, the terms of which were not disclosed.