Well sir, I'm not aware of any liability payments made by the FAA but I've
been proven wrong before. I'm not sure what settlement you're referring to.
Is there a specific accident you're thinking about?
Here are the 3 big DC-10 accidents that come to mind for me. The FAA was
right in the middle of them all but their part was regulatory. All three
are related to maintenance, manufacturing & ground operations, with a bit
of design corrections. Of course the FAA is in the middle of every high
profile accident and they can count on being pilloried whenever that sort
of accident occurs. In a sense it is *THE JOB #1* of FAA Execs to take
those public thrashings, which leans into public perceptions of safety and
getting re-elected. THAT is shown by the fact that people were not willing
to fly on DC-10s even though these 3 accidents had ALL very different
causes. The old "If it's not Boeing..."
So we have some examples:
- *American Airlines Flight 191 (1979)*: Bad maintenance practice,
dropping engine pylons by forklift. "*This resulted from
maintenance-induced damage leading to the separation of the number 1 engine
and pylon assembly at a critical point during takeoff.*"
-
https://www.faa.gov/lessons_learned/transport_airplane/accidents/N110AA
- *Turkish Airlines Flight 981 (1974)*
<https://www.google.com/search?q=Turkish+Airlines+Flight+981+%281974%29&sca_esv=7158150de61051ff&sxsrf=AE3TifOXRvEUiFdvNwTR6XCXTvOsudCZ5g%3A1767738573933&source=hp&ei=zYxdaa7eNr6f5NoP_4uJ8AQ&iflsig=AOw8s4IAAAAAaV2a3dKsrUdqqaU_vViq0pYnHHEVf5eL&ved=2ahUKEwjWvcev-_eRAxVdFVkFHWskK-0QgK4QegQIAxAC&uact=5&oq=DC+10+Douglas%2FFAA+settlement&gs_lp=Egdnd3Mtd2l6IhxEQyAxMCBEb3VnbGFzL0ZBQSBzZXR0bGVtZW50MgUQIRigATIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABMgUQIRigATIFECEYoAFIkw1QAFgAcAB4AJABAJgBgAGgAYABqgEDMC4xuAEDyAEA-AEC-AEBmAIBoAKFAZgDAJIHAzAuMaAH9QOyBwMwLjG4B4UBwgcDMC4xyAcBgAgB&sclient=gws-wiz&mstk=AUtExfDikYV69SNGJxD5BexFUjIweEIg8A0ZP69Qfirl6McrTFE-HP03Gc4YK_1zLJ1-64YQJ2UqRtIINcvni48IQmVNRdDTojFVJ5UWp3ykE0w9pXi8yy2V5K5CQ7fhR45LJDq0muG4hRWpj_rO5t1uDDqkj1FnwSbDK_LRKg0lfISX-BE&csui=3>
: "*The underlying factor in the sequence of events leading to the
accident was the incorrect engagement of the door latching mechanism before
takeoff, made possible by the characteristics of its design*."
-
https://www.faa.gov/lessons_learned/transport_airplane/accidents/TC-JAV
- *UAL Flight 232 (1989)*: "*The No. 2 engine failure had been caused
by a catastrophic uncontained fan disk burst that resulted in engine debris
damaging the aircraft's three hydraulic systems that were located in the
tail section of the aircraft.*"
-
https://www.faa.gov/lessons_learned/transport_airplane/accidents/N1819U
On Tue, Jan 6, 2026 at 5:27 PM Jack Keady <[email protected]> wrote:
> But Mike didn't the FAA participate in the DC 10 Douglas/FAA settlement?
> Keady
>
> Sent from the all new AOL app for Android
> <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aol.mobile.aolapp>
>
> On Tue, Jan 6, 2026 at 14:23, Mike Borfitz via Mifnet
> <[email protected]> wrote:
> I've probably shared this before and odds are good that I'll do it again a
> few years down the road. This is a 1984 SCOTUS decision that clarifies the
> fact that operators & manufacturers, not the FAA, are accountable for the
> safety & airworthiness of their aircraft.
> The decision informs pretty much everything we do at Kilroy Aviation
> because it relates to safety, certification and even delegation. And it
> SHOULD do the same for anybody in our business. The decision related to 2
> accidents that led to lawsuits against the FAA, the Supreme Court held in
> favor of the50,000 FAA's discretionary authority to "spot check"
> certificate holders.
>
> The full decision is attached but for a quick 5-minute read, just scroll
> down to read the yellow highlighted bits. Please enjoy and pass it around.
>
> --
>
> Mike Borfitz
> Cell 206-714-8797
> Kilroy Aviation LLC
> WWW.FAAODA.COM <http://www.faaoda.com/>
>
> Kilroy is available for aviation regulatory and safety issues
> - Type & Production Certification, Continued Operational Safety
> - International validation & safety matters
> - Program & system management
> - FAA STC ODA
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Revised: 20250507
>
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--
Mike Borfitz
Cell 206-714-8797
Kilroy Aviation LLC
WWW.FAAODA.COM <http://www.faaoda.com/>
Kilroy is available for aviation regulatory and safety issues
- Type & Production Certification, Continued Operational Safety
- International validation & safety matters
- Program & system management
- FAA STC ODA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Revised: 20250507
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2) Posts are always off the record, absent specific permission from the author.
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