Product Description

Piper Aircraft Corporation (Lock Haven, PA — later Vero Beach, FL) allegedly manufactured single- and twin-engine general-aviation aircraft including the PA-18 Super Cub, PA-22 Tri-Pacer, PA-24 Comanche, PA-28 Cherokee/Warrior/Archer, PA-30/39 Twin Comanche, PA-31 Navajo/Chieftain, PA-32 Cherokee Six/Saratoga, PA-34 Seneca, PA-42 Cheyenne, and PA-46 Malibu from the 1940s through the 1980s. Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that Piper cabin firewalls were insulated with asbestos-cloth blankets between the engine compartment and cabin, and that asbestos-fiber tape and millboard were used to seal firewall penetrations and exhaust-shroud passages.

Firewall insulation replacement, engine-mount overhaul, and airframe restoration allegedly required disturbance of aged, friable asbestos-fabric material, releasing respirable fibers into general-aviation maintenance shops.

Workers Exposed

  • General aviation A&P (Airframe & Powerplant) mechanics performing annual inspections and firewall repair
  • Piper plant assembly workers at Lock Haven, PA and Vero Beach, FL
  • Aircraft restoration shop workers stripping and replacing firewall blankets
  • Owner-operators performing owner-assisted maintenance on personally owned Pipers