Ladd Sanger
Slack Davis Sanger, L.L.P.
Managing Partner, Dallas Office
Practice Areas
Ladd Sanger has over 25 years of experience advising and representing clients in aviation legal
matters including crash litigation, aviation insurance coverage issues, airport use, Federal
Aviation Regulation compliance, FAA grants, international aviation conventions, NTSB
investigations, and aircraft crash investigations. As a pilot with experience flying both fixed-wing
planes and helicopters, Ladd understands the technical aspects of aviation crashes and applies
that knowledge to all his clients’ matters.
Ladd is an FAA-licensed Airline Transport Pilot with two jet type ratings and is also a licensed
helicopter pilot. He has handled numerous crash cases around the globe, obtaining significant
settlements for those injured or for the families that lost loved ones in a tragic accident. He
received a Top 50 Verdicts in Texas Award in 2019 and 2022, ranking number one in aviation
accidents.
Ladd has litigated and investigated numerous cases involving all types of single and multi-piston engine, turboprop, jet, and helicopter accidents. This includes well over 100 general aviation accidents, product liability, and negligence cases. Some representative examples include the Addison, Texas King Air 350 Crash, a Pilatus PC-12 air ambulance flight, and representation of FlightSafety International in connection with claims arising out of the Wichita, Kansas King Air 200 crash. He has also litigated multiple Robinson R44 post-crash fire cases, AS-350 control systems, Cirrus avionics, and engine failure cases. Ladd has represented claimants against both the FAA and private ATC tower cases. Litigated dozens of Federal Aviation Regulation Part 125 and 121 domestic and international cases including tour helicopter crashes such as Hawaii Bell 407 crash on the Big Island and multiple others on Maui, Kauai, Molokai, and Oahu. Other cases include Gol Transportes Aero 1907 in Brazil, Aero Ruta Maya Caravan in Guatemala, multiple Tropic Air 208 crashes in Belize, and Southwest Airlines 1380 in New York. He has handled numerous Montreal Convention, Death on the High Seas Act, and Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act cases.
As a problem-solver, Ladd has litigated and tried cases in multiple jurisdictions in both state and federal court, as well as representing clients in aviation insurance coverage issues, airport use, grant assurances, airport operations, Federal Aviation Regulation Compliance, FAA grants International Aviation Conventions, NTSB investigations, and aircraft crash investigations. In addition to his aviation practice, Ladd has prosecuted and tried as lead counsel products liability cases involving automobiles and catastrophic personal injury cases. As an active member of the national aviation bar, Ladd was selected by the American Bar Association to be the 2016–2017 Chair of the Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section’s Aviation and Space Law Committee. For twenty years he has served on the Board of Advisors for the SMU Air Law Symposium and is a past Chair of the Aviation Law Section of the American Association for Justice. He is licensed to practice law in Texas, Colorado, and Wyoming and is Board Certified in Aviation Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Education
- J.D., Oklahoma City University
- B.B.A, Finance Southern Methodist University
- Aircraft Accident Investigation School University of Southern California
- Federal Aviation Administration multi-engine Airline Transport Pilot (ATP), rotocraft license multiple jet type ratings
Certifications
- Board Certified in Aviation Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization
Professional Associations
- SMU Air Law Symposium, Chair
- American Association for Justice
- Board Member
- Aviation Law Section and Aviation Newsletter
- Texas State Bar Association
- Dallas Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- Chair, 2016–2017 Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section’s Aviation and Space Law Committee
- Aviation Insurance Association
- Texas Trial Lawyers Association
- Dallas Trial Lawyers Association
- Citation Jet Pilots Association
- Lawyer-Pilot Bar Association
- National Business Aviation Association
Honors & Awards
- Best Lawyers® BL Rankings - Lawyer of the Year 2024 for Product Liability Litigation - Plaintiffs (Dallas/FortWorth, TX)
- Best Lawyers® BL Rankings - Lawyer of the Year award for 2023
- Top 50 Verdicts in Texas for 2019 and 2022
- Top Aviation Verdict in Texas in 2019
- The Best Lawyers in America® BL Rankings, 2009-present
- AV Preeminent Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
- Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers, 2008-present
- Rising Stars, 2004-2007
- Best Lawyers Under 40 in Dallas, D Magazine, 2017
Publications
- "The Shifting Sands of Personal Jurisdiction" (Texas Lawyer, May 1, 2017)
- "UAS: A New Legal Frontier in Aviation" (Texas Lawyer, July 14, 2014)
- "Your First Helicopter Crash Case" (Trial, February 2010, Volume 46, No. 2)
- "Aviation Cases Address Pre-emption, Jurisdictional Matters"(Texas Lawyer, July 13, 2009)
- "Mandatory Aviation Insurance: A Domestic and International Perspective"(American Association for Justice presentation, 2008)
- "Litigating Accidents and Injuries Under the Montreal Convention"(Texas Lawyer, August 6, 2007)
- "Flying and Crashing on the Wings of Fortuosity: The Case for Applying Admiralty Jurisdiction to Aviation Accidents over Navigable Waters"(Journal of Air Law and Commerce, 2003)
- "Failure to Warn: The Difference Between Strict Liability and Negligence from a Plaintiff’s Perspective" (The Air & Space Lawyer, Winter 1999)
- "Will the General Aviation Revitalization Act Allow the Industry to Fly High Again?" (Oklahoma City University Law Review, 1995)
Notable
Cases
Emergency Landing Injuries Results in Helicopter Tour Crash Lawsuit
Case Title: Hicks v. Blue Hawaiian On January 17, 2016, an Airbus EC130 T2 helicopter with registration number N11VQ operated by Blue Hawaiian experienced a sudden loss of engine power due to a broken fuel line, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing. All six passengers suffered serious injuries. At the time of the…
Case Details