Claims Against Aircraft Manufacturers

When a “Safe” Design Isn’t Safe at All

You board a plane trusting more than the crew. You trust the machine. The sensors, the software, the bolts you’ll never see. 

When a manufacturer cuts corners, rushes certification, or buries a known defect, that trust shatters in a second. And you’re left holding the pieces. 

Our personal injury attorneys at Horn Wright, LLP, help you pick them up and we don’t stop until the people who built the problem own the outcome. We handle manufacturer claims across New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. 

Different courts, different rules, same mission: prove the defect, show the cover-up (or the careless shortcut), and fight for the full value of what you lost. You’ll get straight talk, fast movement, and a plan that feels doable because you’ve got enough on your plate already. 

You’re not asking for sympathy. You’re asking for accountability that actually changes things. That’s exactly where we work best.

Where Defects Are Born (Hint: Long Before Takeoff)

Bad planes don’t “just happen.” They start on drawing boards and in conference rooms—when data flags a risk and someone says, “Ship it anyway.” 

Maybe a control law overcorrects. Maybe a sensor fails dirty. Maybe a component fatigues faster than the manual admits. The point is simple: the danger was predictable, and it was preventable.

Manufacturers have a legal duty to design, test, and warn. That means rigorous simulations, honest certification, and clear service bulletins when issues surface in the field. 

When any step gets rushed or spun, passengers pay the price. And we know where to look because the paper trail almost always tells on them. If the design put you at risk, we’ll show a judge and jury how and why this “accident” was anything but.

Common Manufacturer Failures We See (And How They Hurt You)

Most aircraft defects don’t come out of nowhere. They’re baked into the process long before the plane ever takes off. 

You’d be surprised how often the same patterns repeat: cost-cutting, rushed testing, ignored warnings, and the quiet hope that nothing goes wrong. When it does, those “efficiencies” turn into human disasters.

Here’s where we usually find the cracks hiding:

• Design flaws that fight the laws of physics – From unstable aerodynamics to glitchy flight-control logic, design defects create scenarios no pilot can outfly. We partner with aerospace engineers who can demonstrate failure modes in language a jury understands.
• Bad materials and brittle components – Sub-spec alloys, cheap composites, or unreliable sensors can fracture, misread, or simply quit at altitude. These failures usually trace back to weak supplier oversight and cost cutting.
• Manufacturing defects on the line – Great designs still fail when assembly goes sideways: mis-torqued fasteners, chafed wiring, contamination in fuel or hydraulics. Stress exposes shortcuts.
• Testing and certification shortcuts – When delivery dates trump test hours, corners get shaved. Missing scenarios in simulation or pressure on regulators? That’s evidence, not just rumor.

Every one of these failures leaves receipts—inside emails, change orders, service bulletins, and lab results. Our legal team collects them and connects them.

How We Build Your Case Against a Manufacturer

We start by locking down the evidence—wreckage, black-box data, maintenance histories—before anyone “misplaces” a single bolt. Then we bring in independent experts: aerospace engineers, metallurgists, human-factors specialists. 

In controlled labs, they test and teardown components to pinpoint where design ended and negligence began. Next, we pry open the corporate file cabinet: design schematics, certification submissions, hazard analyses, risk registers, and the emails no one planned to see the light of day. 

When a company quietly issues a service bulletin instead of a recall, we flag it. It’s often the moment the manufacturer admits, internally, that the risk was real.

Finally, we tie the tech to your life. We translate complex mechanics into a clean story: what failed, who knew, and how that choice changed your future.

It’s Not Just One Company—Liability Is a Chain

When a plane fails, it’s almost never the fault of just one company. Modern aircraft are built like puzzles—thousands of parts from hundreds of suppliers, each one critical to the whole. 

If any link in that chain breaks, the results can be catastrophic. That’s why we don’t stop at the brand name on the tail. We dig deeper to find every player who played a part in putting a dangerous product in the sky.

• Component suppliers – Avionics, sensors, actuators, composite structures—if a third party built the weak link, we bring them into the case.
• Manufacturing partners and contractors – Outsourced assembly and sub-assembly work must still meet spec. When quality control slips, liability doesn’t.
• Maintenance and MRO providers – Defects can worsen when vague bulletins or flawed instructions lead to improper inspections or repairs.
• Parent companies and affiliates – Big brands love small subsidiaries; we trace corporate ownership so the right pockets answer for the harm.

The truth: everyone who touched the defect can share the blame. We make sure they share the bill.

What Your Recovery Should Actually Cover

You’re rebuilding more than medical bills. Your claim should fund the life you’re fighting to get back.

• Medical care—now and later – Emergency room, surgeries, rehab, meds, prosthetics, mobility aids, home modifications, and life-care planning so you’re covered next year, not just this week.
• Lost income and earning power – Missed paychecks, stalled promotions, career pivots you didn’t choose—modeled by economists, demanded by us.
• Pain, suffering, and daily-life impact – Sleep, travel, parenting, intimacy, confidence—injuries echo everywhere, and the law recognizes that.
• Wrongful death – Funeral costs, loss of financial support and companionship under EPTL Article 5-4.1 and comparable laws in NJ, NH, VT, ME.
• Punitive damages (when warranted) – If leadership knew the risk and shipped anyway, the lesson should be expensive.

If it changed your body, your time, or your trajectory, it belongs in the number. Full stop.

Why You Want Us on a Manufacturer Case

These cases are technical knife fights against corporations with deep benches. You’ll want a team that speaks both languages, courtroom and cockpit. We do. We pair seasoned trial lawyers with aerospace engineers, data analysts, and former regulators. We also choose venue strategically across New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine, filing where the law and jury pool give you the strongest lift.

You’ll get steady updates, clean explanations, and no mystery fees. Our New York attorneys build like trial is possible, which is why fair settlements show up sooner—and larger.

Bring It Back to the Point: Hold the Builder Responsible

From the first paragraph to this one, the message is simple: if a manufacturer put a defective aircraft into the sky, they should be the ones answering on the ground. You trusted the design; the design betrayed that trust. 

Our job is to turn that betrayal into proof and proof into accountability. At Horn Wright, LLP, we serve clients across New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine who refuse to accept “unavoidable” as an answer. Call (855) 465-4622 or reach out online. 

We’ll secure the evidence, line up the experts, and build a case that doesn’t just compensate you—it pressures the industry to do better. Because the skies should be safe, and when they aren’t, the people who built the danger should pay to fix what they broke.