Aetna Casualty and Surety Company, a Connecticut Corporation v. Jeppesen & Company, a Colorado Corporation

This appeal is taken from judgment granting Aetna Casualty and Surety Company indemnity from Jeppesen & Company for money paid by Aetna in settlement of wrongful death actions filed by representatives of passengers killed in a plane crash. We reverse.

On November 15, 1964, a Bonanza Airlines plane crashed in its approach to Las Vegas, Nevada, on a flight from Phoenix, Arizona. All on board were killed. Wrongful death claims filed on behalf of the passengers were settled by Bonanza, with Aetna as Bonanza’s insurer paying to the extent of Bonanza’s coverage.

Jeppesen publishes instrument approach charts to aid pilots in making instrument approaches to airports. Aetna contends that the chart for the Las Vegas Airport was defective, and that product defect was the cause of the crash. Asserting product liability on the part of Jeppesen, it brought this action in the District Court for the District of Nevada as Bonanza’s subrogee, seeking to recover from Jeppesen the sums it has paid in settlement of the wrongful death claims. Following bench trial, the court found that the chart was defective; that the defect was the proximate cause of the crash; that Bonanza was negligent in failing…