Editing Piper Aircraft (section)

===1970s===
Piper discussed a merger with [[Sino Swearingen Aircraft Corporation|Swearingen]] but the deal was not completed.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Air Progress|date=November 1971|page=16}}</ref> The Lock Haven facility was nearly destroyed in 1972 when torrential rains from [[Hurricane Agnes]] caused the [[Susquehanna River]] to flood in June. The manufacturing plant was flooded to a depth of {{convert|16|ft|m}}, effectively destroying about 100 aircraft and causing an estimated $23 million in damage.<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1972/1972%20-%201702.html "Piper Lockhaven (sic) plant flooded", ''Flight International'' magazine, 6 July 1972, p. 3 (online archive version)] retrieved 10 August 2012</ref><ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1972/1972%20-%201901.html "Piper damage estimate increased", ''Flight International'' magazine, 27 July 1972, p. 118 (online archive version)] retrieved 10 August 2012</ref> Much of the tooling necessary for production of several designs, including the Aztec, Navajo, and Comanche, was also destroyed,{{Citation needed|date=August 2012}} and the [[Piper PA-31T Cheyenne]] program received a setback when the prototype was damaged just after the [[Federal Aviation Administration]] awarded it [[Type certificate|Type Certification]].<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1972/1972%20-%201901.html ''Flight International'' magazine, 20 July 1972, p. 81 (online archive version)] retrieved 10 August 2012</ref> Initial deliveries of the new [[Piper PA-31 Navajo|PA-31-350 Chieftain]] were also delayed by several months.<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1972/1972%20-%202469.html "Piper announces Navajo Chieftain", ''Flight International'' magazine, 14 September 1972, p. 360 (online archive version)] retrieved 10 August 2012</ref> After the flood, Piper gave 32 written-off PA-28s, PA-31s and PA-23 Aztecs to [[NASA]], which used them for [[crash test]]s at the [[Langley Research Center]], using a rig originally built to simulate spacecraft landings on the moon for the [[Apollo program]].<ref>Hayduck Memorandum, p. 2</ref>

As a result of the flood, and market factors, the company decided to end production of the [[Piper PA-24 Comanche|Comanche]]<ref name="peperell_1987_p110">Peperell 1987, p. 110</ref> and [[Piper PA-30 Twin Comanche|Twin Comanche]].<ref name-"twin_comanche_av_consumer">[https://www.aviationconsumer.com/used-aircraft-guide/used-aircraft-guide-twin-comanche/ "Twin Comanche,"] ''Aviation Consumer,'' retrieved September 25, 2023</ref> Piper opened a manufacturing division in [[Lakeland, Florida]], in 1972 and through the 1970s, the [[Piper PA-31 Navajo]], Chieftain, and [[Cheyenne III]] were manufactured at the more than {{convert|710,000|sqft|adj=on}} facility on the Lakeland municipal airport.<ref name="1983|0748|Flight Archive"/>