Scandinavian Airlines System v. United Aircraft Corporation

The central issue of this action is whether strict liability under California law is applicable when a large airline sues a manufacturer of an aircraft engine for a defect in the product that caused property damage to the engine itself and to the aircraft on which it was installed.

Scandinavian Airlines System brought this diversity action to recover for property damage resulting from the failure of two separate jet aircraft engines on two different occasions. The failure of these jet engines on each occasion caused damage to the engines' themselves and to the two DC-9 aircraft on which they were installed. Both engines were manufactured by United Aircraft Corporation. One engine, No. 181, was purchased by SAS directly from United. The other engine, No. 168, was installed on a DC-9 which was purchased from McDonnell Douglas Corporation by SAS. This action was brought against both McDonnell Douglas and United. A summary judgment was entered for McDonnell Douglas on the claims against it which was initially appealed by SAS, but subsequently dismissed on motion of SAS.

The complaint stated claims against United on theories of negligence, breach of express and implied warranties and…