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The NAM filed an amicus brief in the Second Circuit seeking to uphold a summary judgment ruling in favor of the manufacturing defendants in a helicopter design defect case based on the doctrine of implied field preemption. The case arose from a fatal crash of a U.S. Army helicopter. The decedents’ estates brought design defect and manufacturing defect claims against the manufacturers of the helicopter, even though the Army required that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approve all aspects of the helicopter’s design. The trial court rejected the plaintiffs’ claims after finding clear congressional intent to occupy the entire field of aviation safety, including aviation product liability cases. The NAM joined the General Aviation Manufacturers’ Association (GAMA) in filing an amicus brief arguing for affirmance of the trial court’s ruling. As the NAM’s brief explains, the FAA exercises pervasive authority to establish aviation design standards and approve compliance with those standards. The FAA also retains ultimate, exclusive authority over changes to approved designs and monitors aviation products throughout their lives in service to address any safety issues. This federal regulatory scheme requires preemption to prevent an unworkable array of conflicting requirements that would jeopardize the safety and viability of the aviation industry—in the United States and globally.