Business Law: Airplane Seat-belt Option

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Business Law: Airplane Seat-belt Option

Introduction

In the recent past, ideas for developing more bristle seats have not yet materialized. Therefore, if airplane seat belts were included in the idea of developing these sears, then, we will have admirable and more comfortable seats (Hall et al., 2017). For instance, the double-decker cabin could be the next innovation in line that would bring about better and advanced ways of accommodating passengers. Its features are shown in the pictures below:

1. Taking a nap

2. Sitting

Fundamentally, a passenger is sleeping in either a cabin without a seat belt, and in case of particular eventualities, the passenger might triple and fall off his or her bed. Thus, causing minor up to major injuries. If advanced seat belts are incorporated, then it means a greater margin will reduce these eventualities. According to the Irish Times dated Friday, 20^th April 2018, it is quoted that the seat belt is unlikely to be of any help if the plane crashes.

Existing cases that depict how certain events unfolded

There was an existing case involving a sole defendant, Piper Aircraft Company, and the plaintiff Donna Wilson, a representative of the Douglas Wilson family: The case involved a liability in that two wrongful deaths occurred aboard a small aircraft. At the same time, it crashed. In this case, Piper Corporation was the defendant as a factor of being the manufacturer. The manufacturer claimed to follow the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) after being given a compliance certificate. The court proceeded to say that this only stipulates that Federal Aviation Administration standards of design were only the minimum (Updegrove & Jafer, 2017). Therefore, these were not grounds for either deciding if a tort was committed or not. The judge held that if the design of an aircraft results in an injury within the passenger, then a tort under strict liability should be tested. That is, did the manufacturer know that the design would be risky when they sold it to the customer and was he/she acting reasonably at the moment?

Some may see that a reasonable manufacturer cannot allow something that they know is faulty and may cause harm to the public, a term referred to as absolute liability. In other cases, the degree to which an injury might occur is so minute that a reasonable manufacturer would go ahead and release the product into the market despite the impending risks. The plaintiffs allegedly argued that the aircraft lacked proper seat belts and harnesses to protect the shoulder in case of a crush. Therefore, the judge and or jury would infer, basing their argument on common knowledge, that it wouldn’t be that expensive and it would not affect the aircraft’s engineering.

Facts on the case

In the case of Powell versus Dell-Air Aviation Inc. The plaintiff, a passenger who was aboard the DC3 aircraft owned by the Las Vegas Hacienda and is held in operation by Dell-Air Aviation. Before the flight took off, there was an inspection to see that the plane was good for take-off. The director went through with the check, which included checking seatbelts in the plane. Rayman stated that he had no memory of such an experience. The airplane then left Burbank for Las Vegas. After a few minutes, the pilot pressed a button instructing the passengers to fasten their seatbelts since they would encounter an eventuality. This was done, but amidst the turbulence, Mrs. Powell was sucked out of her seat and thrown into the air destroying the seat she had sat on. When the plane came to a landing point, Mrs. Powell was taken to hospital and found to have sustained injuries as a result. Adickes stated that if the seatbelts had been installed properly, then Mrs. Powell wouldn’t have been sucked off her seat. He also testified, saying that despite the fact that a metal-to-metal seat belt was safer, he suggested that the metal-to-cloth seat belt type should be adopted.

Clody G. Berkbile died on the 9^th July 1971 during a crash that involved the Brantly B-2 aircraft (helicopter). The representative of the deceased sued the defendant, that is, Brantly B-2 aircraft (helicopter) corporation (the manufacturer of the helicopter), for wrongful death. A trial was held based on strict liability by physical harm through the supply of defective product designs.

The single most issue being addressed in this report is whether, while improving the quality of seats in airplanes, it would be wise also to improve the quality of the seatbelts and make the passenger comfortable and safer.

Laws that have been addressed based on the cases

Product liability: if one unreasonably sells a product to a defective customer, then the customer is deemed to incur liability through physical harm. Even though the manufacturer has gone through all the necessary legal procedures, then a properly made product is defective if the product’s design is unreasonably vicious.

Strict liability: a seller may have followed the laid procedures in selling the product, but through preemption, the seller will be liable to any eventualities that may occur.

Negligence: as in the case of Mrs. Powell, the director of the flight was reckless in his checking procedures, hence did not notice the defective seatbelt.

As per the stated facts, it can be seen that there are lots of discrepancies that cost passengers’ lives, beginning with flight attendants being reckless in doing their work, manufacturers failing to incur additional costs for better services. Therefore, we need to be keen, observant, extra careful, and act reasonably even though we adhere to the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) regulations.

Conclusion

The concept of seat belts have always been present and have been considered to be a safety measure that will protect us, however, it is worthy to note that people still lose lives in spite of them. With no question, there is a need for safety to be completely accessible to individuals, especially in airplanes. Hopefully in the near future, better airplane conditions will be devised and aid in incorporating better seat belts that are more advanced, as well as safe. Through this, the aircraft community will shift towards a positive direction that values the importance of comfort and safety.

References

Hall, A., Mayer, T., Wuggetzer, I., & Childs, P. R. N. (2017). Future aircraft cabins and design thinking: optimization vs. win-win scenarios. Propulsion and Power Research, 2(2), 85-95. Retrieved from: http://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/double-decker-airplane-cabin-concepts-crystal-cabin-awards/index.html.

Updegrove, J. A., & Jafer, S. (2017). Optimization of air traffic control training at the Federal Aviation Administration Academy. Aerospace, 4(4), 50. Retrieved from: https://law.justia.com/cases/oregon/supreme-court/1978/577-p-2d-1322-6.html