G.S. Rasmussen & Associates, Inc. v. Kalitta Flying Service, Inc. Connie Kalitta Services, Inc. Conrad A. Kalitta

We shuttle back and forth between federal and state law in determining what legal protections — if any — are available to the holder of certain aircraft design permits issued by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Facts

A. The FAA is charged by Congress with promoting air safety, see 49 U.S.C.App. § 1421(a), and pursues this mis sion vigorously and effectively in cooperation with the private aviation industry. One of the FAA’s most important functions is to prescribe standards and to measure compliance with a multistep certification process for airplane design and production. See generally United States v. Varig Airlines, 467 U.S. 797, 804-07 , 104 S.Ct. 2756 , 2759-61, 81 L.Ed.2d 660 (1984).

Because the certification procedure is complex and expensive, the FAA certifies airplane types rather than individual planes. Aircraft manufacturers are required to test and analyze new airplane designs themselves; the FAA then determines the airworthiness of the design based on the manufacturer-generated engineering data and test results. Once a manufacturer has demonstrated the safety of its design, the FAA issues it a Type Certificate. See 49 U.S.C.App. § 1423(a)(2); 14 CFR §…