Karayanni.FN023.Piper Aircraft v. Reyno.pdf - The University of ...

PIPER AIRCRAFT CO. v. REYNO235 Opinion of the CourtBlackpool to Perth. The pilot and five passengers werekilled instantly. The decedents were all Scottish subjectsand residents, as are their heirs and next of kin. There wereno eyewitnesses to the accident. At the time of the crashthe plane was subject to Scottish air traffic control.The aircraft, a twin-engine Piper Aztec, was manufacturedin Pennsylvania by petitioner Piper Aircraft Co. (Piper).The propellers were manufactured in Ohio by petitionerHartzell Propeller, Inc. (Hartzell). At the time of the crashthe aircraft was registered in Great Britain and was ownedand maintained by Air Navigation and Trading Co., Ltd. (AirNavigation). It was operated by McDonald Aviation, Ltd.(McDonald), a Scottish air taxi service. Both Air Navigationand McDonald were organized in the United Kingdom. Thewreckage of the plane is now in a hangar in Farnsborough,England.The British Department of Trade investigated the accidentshortly after it occurred. A preliminary report found thatthe plane crashed after developing a spin, and suggested thatmechanical failure in the plane or the propeller was responsible.At Hartzell's request, this report was reviewed by athree-member Review Board, which held a 9-day adversaryhearing attended by all interested parties. The ReviewBoard found no evidence of defective equipment and indicatedthat pilot error may have contributed to the accident.The pilot, who had obtained his commercial pilot's licenseonly three months earlier, was flying over high ground at analtitude considerably lower than the minimum height requiredby his company's operations manual.In July 1977, a California probate court appointed respondentGaynell Reyno administratrix of the estates of the fivepassengers. Reyno is not related to and does not know anyof the decedents or their survivors; she was a legal secretaryto the attorney who filed this lawsuit. Several days afterher appointment, Reyno commenced separate wrongful-