Aviation Liability

When an aircraft crashes and causes personal injury or death, it is often difficult to determine the exact cause of the accident. Was it pilot error? Did the aircraft malfunction? Was there negligence on the owner’s part? Ho well was the pilot trained? Was the aircraft being flown in a way it wasn’t intended to fly? Were the crew and passengers aware of how to act in an emergency?

In virtually any instance where a plane crashes, someone is liable. Whether it is the operator’s error, the owner’s poor judgment or a defective part on the aircraft, there are almost always steps which could have been taken to prevent the accident. Determining which individual is liable, or if it is a combination of issues must be determined before restitution can be awarded.

Aircraft Failure

Aircraft failure causes can be broken into several categories:

· Poor design

· Poor manufacturing practices

· Poor maintenance

Any of these may cause the failure of an aircraft part to operate, loosening of parts due to vibration, or lack of crashworthiness.

Manufacturer Fault

The manufacturer of an aircraft may be at fault in several different ways. However, for a manufacturer to be liable, the craft must have a design defect or manufacturing defect. This can include the manufacturer’s failure to warn or inadequate warnings about known issues, or incorrect emergency instructions, as well as incorrectly manufactured or assembled parts or the inability of parts to respond as expected.

To prove a design defect, the plaintiff must be able to prove that the product line is deficient in the same area across each craft of that model. A manufacturing defect may only have affected one of the aircraft or may affect them all, through incorrect assembly, substandard materials, and so on.

Operator Failure

To successfully sue for operator failure, the operator must be proved negligent, or to have acted in a negligent manner. This can include:

· Loss of control

· Inadequate training

· Misuse of aircraft or part of aircraft

· Failure to react in a timely manner

· Decision to fly in dangerous weather

Owner Failure

In some cases, it is the owner and not the operator or manufacturer who may be held responsible. An owner may exercise negligence through:

· Exercising use of the craft despite known inadequacies

· Use despite known damage or danger

· Failure of the aircraft to be inspected

· Modifications or alterations to the craft

· Failure to repair damage to the craft

Types of Damages

Aviation liability may be sought for damage to an individual or property on an aircraft, or damage to property caused by crashes or emergency landings.

Assumption of Risk

Assumption of risk is a term referring to the victim clear understanding of the risk involved in partaking in an activity, such as in sky diving. If, for example, a client chartered a private jet and was recommended to delay departure due to inclement weather, but insisted on taking the risk despite the recommendation, the client may not be able to successfully sue for injury or damages.

In many cases, aviation accidents are caused by multiple faults, such as pilot causing a crash, but manufacturer’s poor design causing fire and disfigurement. In this type of example, the pilot alone would not be solely held responsible for an accident.