Regulations and Government
Nancy Kassebaum, Architect of GA Product Liability Reform, Dies
Kassebaum pushed through the General Aviation Revitalization Act
The late former Sen. Nancy Kassebaum
The late former Sen. Nancy Kassebaum © The U.S. Senate

Nancy Landon Kassebaum, the former Republican U.S. senator from Kansas who shepherded through one of the most monumental pieces of legislation for the general aviation industry, died on August 21 in Manhattan, Kansas. She was 94.

Born in Topeka, Kassebaum served in the U.S. Senate from 1978 to 1997, the only woman in the chamber when she was elected. But many in Wichita remember her mostly for her advocacy for the General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994 (GARA), which established an 18-year statute of repose that eliminated the long liability tail of general aviation aircraft.