More than 700 million passengers board domestic airline flights every year in the U.S. Airlines, and 700 million passengers means big money. Human nature being the way it is, it is unsurprising that absent sufficient consumer protection regulations, airlines will find a way to fleece passengers through the use of sharp business practices. Part of […]
FAA to Loosen Medical Restrictions on Some Pilots
Three levels of medical certificates are required of various pilots – third class, second class and first class. Each involves a more thorough and invasive medical exam than the last, and each confers greater privileges on the pilots who hold it. Commercial airline pilots, for example, must hold first-class medical certificates, while pilots flying single-seat […]
Air Traffic Controller Liability
An air traffic controller (“ATC”) holds one of the most important and stressful jobs in existence – one mistake could result in the violent death of hundreds of people. Settled legal standards apply to protect people who are injured by ATC negligence and people who are harmed by the death of another person that was […]
Tricky Legal Issues in Product Liability Lawsuit against Aircraft Manufacturers
When someone is injured or killed in a plane crash, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) usually attributes the cause to “pilot error”. In some cases, however, the cause of the accident can be traced to a manufacturing defect in the aircraft itself. In these cases, under certain circumstances the manufacturer of the aircraft or a […]
Third Circuit Narrows Federal Preemption for Aircraft Product Liability Cases
By David Carnes, Staff Writer Federal courts have consistently held that federal law preempts the entire field of “aviation safety”. This means, in effect, that you cannot file a lawsuit based on a state aircraft safety statute. Instead, litigants are expected to file their claims based on Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations or other applicable […]