Originally Posted by
5th officer
Acro, the straw that broke the Camels Back for Cessna was not Pilot Error, it was the failure of the Seat Track on a 1951 170a causing the Pilot to slide rearwards whilst holding onto the control wheel causing a stall after take off. His widow and her legal counsel sued for tens of millions and won, Cessna gave up after that case.
This liability issue (with very large payouts for individuals) certainly may be largely to blame for the C172 demise in the current market.
I wouldn't say that a 'seat track' fault on the c170a in 1951 killed Cessna or the C172. 43,000 C172 were built after that along with C170Bs.
I haven't read up on this incident, but perhaps that was the first big lawsuit that all the rest followed. Millions of $ as you stated, would be a considerable blow to Cessna back in the early 1950s.
PS: I'm certainly not saying all C172 deaths were the result of pilot error, or that manufacturers should get away with known potentially fatal design / manufacturing flaws.
No manufacturer is perfect. They should fix the problem immediately. Perhaps that's part of the problem. To admit you have a design fault, you admit liability with that fault, and risk numeral lawsuits.
Some larger aircraft manufacturers may have taken that stance too.