Wallace v. United States of America Department of Transportation

MEMORANDUM

David Wallace was a passenger in a helicopter owned by the corporation of which he is the president, Concrete Paving Contractors (“Concrete Paving”), and manufactured by Robinson Helicopter Company (“Robinson”), when it crashed in May 2005. The helicopter caught fire after impact, and Wallace was badly burned. Wallace brought suit against Robinson and the United States Department of Transportation under the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”), 28 U.S.C. § 1346 (b), on behalf of himself, Concrete Paving, and his wife (all hereafter “Wallace”). Wallace alleges that the helicopter’s fuel system was not “crashworthy” as required by 14 C.F.R. § 27.952 and that the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) was negligent both in permitting Robinson to manufacture unsafe helicopters prior to the implementation of § 27.952 and in failing to revoke such certificates after the implementation of that regulation. Wallace also alleges that the FAA was negligent in designating Ingrid Morton, a Robinson employee, as a Designated Manufacturing Inspection Representative (“DMIR”).

The district court found that the claims fell within the discretionary function exception of the FTCA, 28 U.S.C.…