What liability issues caused Cessna to stop making twin-engined piston aircraft in 1985?

Question

I find it really unfortunate that airplanes like the 421, 414, and 310 stopped being produced at that time. What was the big deal? was there a 'landmark' court case or something?

Answer 1

After becoming a subsidiary of General Dynamics Corporation in 1985, Cessna stopped producing piston-engine airplanes with the 1986 model year due to concerns over product liability. In 1992, Textron, Inc. acquired Cessna Aircraft and soon resumed producing light aircraft. However, rising production costs and concerns over product liability did not justify the reintroduction of the popular and affordable two-seat models. ♥

Answer 2

more of a market issue. product liability is  a given in any industry not just aviation. they just couldnt recover the costs, all costs, because few wanted to buy the suckers. liability is not an issue if you can sell the product at a profit. ya think boeing has liability problems? me too.

Answer 3

All true, Lilly.  I think the immediate issue was that the twins carried more passengers, and the risk of being sued in the wake of an accident was too great to justify the potential profit from those machines.

Answer 4

I don't think it was really a Liability issue. Light Twins do not have a great useful load capability and therefore do not carry any more passengers than a good 210 or 206. I think it was more that there was not a good market for those Aircraft anymore as they are much more expensive to operate and maintain. They also require more experience as a Pilot and the Multi Engine Rating to fly them. A 310 also has pretty limited single engine performance statistics if you research them and if you are not proficient in single engine operations in emergencies, they can get away from you with disastrous results. Light Twins are not all they seem to be, you loose more that 50% of your performance if you loose one engine. Very demanding to fly and their single engine service ceiling is not great either. There just was not a good market for those Aircraft anymore. They also were expensive to buy as well and for Cessna to produce.