[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1458 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.1458

                       One Hundred Third Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
 the twenty-fifth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-
                                  four


                                 An Act

  
 
  To amend the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to establish time 
limitations on certain civil actions against aircraft manufacturers, and 
for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``General Aviation Revitalization Act 
of 1994''.
SEC. 2. TIME LIMITATIONS ON CIVIL ACTIONS AGAINST AIRCRAFT 
MANUFACTURERS.
    (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), no civil 
action for damages for death or injury to persons or damage to property 
arising out of an accident involving a general aviation aircraft may be 
brought against the manufacturer of the aircraft or the manufacturer of 
any new component, system, subassembly, or other part of the aircraft, 
in its capacity as a manufacturer if the accident occurred--
        (1) after the applicable limitation period beginning on--
            (A) the date of delivery of the aircraft to its first 
        purchaser or lessee, if delivered directly from the 
        manufacturer; or
            (B) the date of first delivery of the aircraft to a person 
        engaged in the business of selling or leasing such aircraft; or
        (2) with respect to any new component, system, subassembly, or 
    other part which replaced another component, system, subassembly, 
    or other part originally in, or which was added to, the aircraft, 
    and which is alleged to have caused such death, injury, or damage, 
    after the applicable limitation period beginning on the date of 
    completion of the replacement or addition.
    (b) Exceptions.--Subsection (a) does not apply--
        (1) if the claimant pleads with specificity the facts necessary 
    to prove, and proves, that the manufacturer with respect to a type 
    certificate or airworthiness certificate for, or obligations with 
    respect to continuing airworthiness of, an aircraft or a component, 
    system, subassembly, or other part of an aircraft knowingly 
    misrepresented to the Federal Aviation Admin-
    istration, or concealed or withheld from the Federal Aviation 
    Administration, required information that is material and relevant 
    to the performance or the maintenance or operation of such 
    aircraft, or the component, system, subassembly, or other part, 
    that is causally related to the harm which the claimant allegedly 
    suffered;
        (2) if the person for whose injury or death the claim is being 
    made is a passenger for purposes of receiving treatment for a 
    medical or other emergency;
        (3) if the person for whose injury or death the claim is being 
    made was not aboard the aircraft at the time of the accident; or
        (4) to an action brought under a written warranty enforceable 
    under law but for the operation of this Act.
    (c) General Aviation Aircraft Defined.--For the purposes of this 
Act, the term ``general aviation aircraft'' means any aircraft for 
which a type certificate or an airworthiness certificate has been 
issued by the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, 
which, at the time such certificate was originally issued, had a 
maximum seating capacity of fewer than 20 passengers, and which was 
not, at the time of the accident, engaged in scheduled passenger-
carrying operations as defined under regulations in effect under the 
Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (49 U.S.C. App. 1301 et seq.) at the time 
of the accident.
    (d) Relationship to Other Laws.--This section supersedes any State 
law to the extent that such law permits a civil action described in 
subsection (a) to be brought after the applicable limitation period for 
such civil action established by subsection (a).

SEC. 3. OTHER DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act--
        (1) the term ``aircraft'' has the meaning given such term in 
    section 101(5) of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (49 U.S.C. 
    1301(5));
        (2) the term ``airworthiness certificate'' means an 
    airworthiness certificate issued under section 603(c) of the 
    Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (49 U.S.C. 1423(c)) or under any 
    predecessor Federal statute;
        (3) the term ``limitation period'' means 18 years with respect 
    to general aviation aircraft and the components, systems, 
    subassemblies, and other parts of such aircraft; and
        (4) the term ``type certificate'' means a type certificate 
    issued under section 603(a) of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (49 
    U.S.C. 1423(a)) or under any predecessor Federal statute.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION OF ACT.

    (a) Effective Date.--Except as provided in subsection (b), this Act 
shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Application of Act.--This Act shall not apply with respect to 
civil actions commenced before the date of the enactment of this Act.







                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.







                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.