Fairchild Republic Company represents the merger of two major aircraft and aircraft parts companies that provided aircraft to the U.S. military from 1931 to 1987. The planes and many of their components contained asbestos, putting the workers at the company’s factories, pilots who flew the planes, and mechanics and others who worked with the parts at risk for malignant mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.
Fairchild Republic History and Asbestos
Fairchild-Republic Company is the corporate descendant of the Fairchild Aerial Camera Corporation, which was founded in 1920 by Sherman Mills Fairchild. The company went through multiple iterations and had many names over its nearly sixty-year history, including the Fairchild Aviation Corporation and the Fairchild Aircraft Manufacturing Company. It was best known as one of America’s leading military and commercial aircraft manufacturers.[1]
Fairchild Aerial Camera Corporation created the first large, high-speed, between-the-lens shutter for aerial cameras and was the first company to complete aerial mapping of all five boroughs of New York City. The company produced the first U.S. aircraft to include a fully enclosed cockpit and hydraulic landing gear, the Fairchild FC-1 as well as the Fairchild 71 for its aerial photography work, leading to a contract with the U.S. government to provide aerial photograph surveys. The company also developed and manufactured airplanes for civilian transport. Between 1927 and 1930, it delivered more than 300 of its FC-2 planes, making it the nation’s largest manufacturer of commercial aircraft at that time.[2]
By 1936, the company had developed the XC-31 aircraft for U.S. Army personnel transport and had established a reputation for innovation in aircraft parts and design. It developed the first air-cooled in-line engines and the first successful radio compass and created the process of using composite structures in airframe design and production that is still in use today.
During the build-up to World War II, the company had already become a major supplier to the Army Air Corps, building engines and trainers, and throughout the war it developed multiple aircraft including the P-47 Thunderbolt, the C-119 cargo carrier and gunship, the F-105 Thunderchief, and the A-10 Thunderbolt II. More than 8,000 PT-19s were built for the U.S. and allied forces during World War II, and the company is credited with developing the first lead computing gunsight for installation on B-24 bombers, a flight analyzer that accurately recorded and measured aircraft flight paths, and the first integrated, pod-mounted photo reconnaissance system for use on the B-58 bomber.[2]
In the 1960s, the company began building satellites for NASA. At the same time, it went through a series of acquisitions and mergers, including acquiring Republic Aviation, another major manufacturer of military aircraft. The company continued to grow through the 1970s and early 1980s, expanding its business to include communications, space, commercial and military aviation, and other industries. The aircraft manufacturing divisions were sold in the mid-1980s, and the Fairchild Aircraft Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1990.[2]
How Did Fairchild-Republic Use Asbestos?
Before the dangers of asbestos became widely known, it was used in almost every part of aircraft because of its heat-resistant characteristics and strength.This was especially true of planes built for the U.S. military, which requested the inclusion of asbestos as a protective agent for its service members. Asbestos was included in the fabrication of many aircraft parts including brake systems, gaskets, and valves. It was used in insulation and sealants, cockpits, wings, fuselages, and landing gear, as well as in protective equipment including asbestos gloves and blankets.[3]
Some of Fairchild Republic Company’s aircraft components that were made with asbestos include:
- Engine insulation
- Electrical wiring
- Brake systems and lining
- Cockpit heating systems
- Engine heat shields
- Torque valves
- Gaskets
- Cargo bay insulation
The Fairchild Republic aircraft that contained asbestos included:
- Fairchild C-123 Provider
- Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar
- Fairchild C-82 Packet
- Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II
- Republic F-105 Thunderchief
- Republic F-84 Thunderjet
- Republic F-84F Thunderstreak
- Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
Who Was Exposed to Asbestos from Fairchild Republic Company?
The aircraft that Fairchild Republic Company supplied to the U.S. military were manufactured in its factories in East Farmingdale, Long Island, New York, and its site in Hagerstown, Maryland. The use of asbestos in the fabrication of the planes put workers in the factories at risk of asbestos exposure, as well as mechanics who repaired and maintained Fairchild Republic Company’s commercial and military aircraft.
At particular risk are United States Air Force veterans, both the pilots who flew Fairchild Republic aircraft including the P-47 Thunderbolt and the F-105 Thunderchief, and the mechanics who maintained and repaired the planes back at U.S. Air Force bases. Because asbestos was used freely from the company’s earliest days of providing the military with planes during World War II to the more modern aircraft it manufactured which were used in the Persian Gulf, countless military personnel were put at risk of asbestos exposure.
A Fairchild Republic Company’s SEC filing indicates that it has been served with separate complaints in actions filed in various venues by non-employee workers, alleging personal injury or wrongful death as a result of exposure to asbestos-containing products.[4] This filing, dated 2008, is an indication of the long tail of asbestos exposure: The disease has an extended latency period: Decades can go by between the time of exposure to asbestos to the time that an asbestos-related disease begins to manifest symptoms. This is especially true of the most lethal asbestos-related disease, malignant mesothelioma.
Help for People Exposed to Asbestos from Fairchild Republic Company Aircraft
Many Air Force veterans and other individuals who were exposed to asbestos decades ago are only now seeing the effects of their exposure. As they have been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, and other serious illnesses, they’ve found that help and resources are available from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which offers special disability compensation for those who who were exposed to asbestos during their military service. Several VA medical centers specialize in the treatment of asbestos-related diseases and provide care at no charge to veterans.
Victims of asbestos-related diseases may also be eligible for compensation from Fairchild Republic Company. An experienced asbestos attorney can provide you with the options available to you and guide you through the process of filing a personal injury lawsuit against the company.
