SST AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS. PART III. CONTRACTOR'S REPORTS. C. SONIC BOOM

The purpose of the study is to estimate claims costs resulting from the sonic boom of the SST, and to examine tradeoffs between these costs and aircraft operating costs for various operating procedures designed to reduce claims costs. Claims for damage to ground structures comprise by far the largest category of claims. Based on the Oklahoma City data, the major item of cost was administrative handling of the claims. Actual payments for alleged damages were small. The Oklahoma City claims data are representative of the situation that may exist in the US and Canada during the SST operations. However, they are almost certainly not representative of the situation that will be found in other areas of the world. SST operations should not damage the basic structure of reasonably well-constructed buildings. It is not clear that an airline or the Federal government, for that matter would be liable for sonic boom damage resulting from the operation of a commercial transport, flown in accordance with flight rules and procedures prescribed by the federal government.