RICHMOND, VA. (CN) - The Fourth Circuit defined the role of airplane manuals in a wrongful death case after a pilot and a co-pilot died in a crash that Colgan Air blamed on errors in the maintenance manual.
The lower court held that the manual published by Raytheon Aircrafts, which made the Beech 1900D that crashed, were "part of the aircraft" covered by a disclaimer and waiver of warranty rights for the used plane. But the circuit found that the maintenance manual, unlike the flight manual, is not part of the plane because it outlines procedures that aren't necessary to operate the plane. See ruling in Colgan Air v. Raytheon Aircraft.
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