Private and General Aviation

Unlike commercial air carriers, private or general aviators are not required to maintain a heightened standard of care towards passengers. The law treats a general aviator much like the operator of a motor vehicle, requiring that the pilot use reasonable care to avoid accident or injury

Even in cases where a general aviator agrees to carry a fare-paying passenger, only the common rules of negligence and due care apply with respect to the maintenance and inspection of the aircraft. Like the standard for commercial pilots, the pilot of a private aircraft must still comport with the standards of care and expertise of the average, qualified pilot in the operation of the plane.

After any air crash, legal claims may involve pilot error, faulty manufacture and maintenance, unsafe flying and weather conditions, defective onboard computers or software, or fuel tank explosions.

In the event of any air crash, survivors or victims' family members should consult an aviation attorney who has the combined legal and technical knowledge and financial resources to lead an investigation into the cause of a crash and pursue the maximum compensation allowed.

Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act

In 1996, after the TWA crash which killed 230 people off Long Island, Congress passed the Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act. This law requires that the families of airline accident victims be treated with care and respect. Following are the key points:

• Family members should be given time to notify other relatives before passengers' names are made public.
• Airlines must offer crisis counseling.
• Airlines must make hotel rooms and food available.
• Airlines must help family members retrieve dental records and X-rays to identify the victims.
• Airlines must provide transportation to and from the crash site.
• Airlines should consult family members about a memorial.

Under the federal Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act, "... no unsolicited communication concerning a potential action for personal injury or wrongful death may be made by an attorney ... to an individual injured in the accident, or to a relative of an individual involved in the accident, before the 45th day following the date of the accident."

This prohibition covers attorneys (including any associate, agent, employee, or other representative of an attorney) or any potential party to the litigation.

Our firm stands ready to assist you in your time of need, however, we respect the need of victims' families for privacy. We will never contact you without your permission or legal representative's authorization. Please contact us first to determine if we can be of assistance.

Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA)

Originally enacted in 1920 to compensate victims of disasters on the high seas, the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA) enabled widows to recover damages for their husband's future earnings. The law was very restrictive. Compensation relied on the salvage of the vessel -- no salvage, no compensation.

Today's DOHSA is less restrictive, but still applies to accidents on the high seas of U.S., state or territorial waters. Over the years airlines pushed to apply this law to air crash litigation when the crash was at sea, since non-financial damages, such as loss of consortium; survivor's grief; and any pre-death pain and suffering of a decedent were not recoverable under DOHSA.

Before DOHSA was amended in April 2000, the act applied to air crashes within a marine league (approximately 3.4 miles) from U.S. shores. When TWA Flight 800 crashed in July 1996, several miles beyond one marine league of New York City, all aboard died, including children whose parents could prove little economic loss from their deaths.

During litigation resulting from the crash, TWA asked the court to apply DOHSA to Flight 800 in order to limit compensation to families. In response to public pressure, Congress later amended DOHSA in 2000 to apply to crashes beyond 12 nautical miles from shore that occur after July 16, 1996 (the day before the TWA 800 disaster).

Under the new DOHSA, if a commercial aviation accident occurs within the newly established 12-mile limit, then DOHSA will not apply. Instead, the rules applicable under federal, state and other appropriate jurisdictions apply.

The amended DOHSA allows for the recovery of non-pecuniary damages for wrongful death, which is defined as the loss of care, comfort and companionship. It does not allow for the recovery of pain and suffering prior to death, or for the recovery of punitive damages.

For all aviation accidents beyond the 12-mile definition, DOHSA applies. Yet, under the new DOHSA, certain non-economic damages may be recoverable in some cases.

Slack & Davis aviation attorneys have the experience, training and skill to interpret the varied and complex laws affecting aviation cases and seek advantageous resolution for our clients.

The Jones Act

The maritime (or admiralty) law known as the Jones Act was passed by Congress to compensate seaman who were injured on the high seas. In most cases, federal courts have jurisdiction over state courts in maritime / admiralty law cases. The Jones Act applies to a number of situations that at first might not appear to be admiralty matters.

Because of the Jones Act's liberal definition of the term "seaman," the term can include employees who are injured in an aircraft whose primary function bears a significant resemblance to traditional maritime activity.

Examples of aviation cases in which admiralty jurisdiction applies would be helicopters transporting workers to offshore oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, a sea plane transporting workers to or from company-owned facilities and commercial aircraft on transoceanic flights.

Examples in which admiralty jurisdiction would not apply include cases in which aircraft crash in navigable waters due to pure misfortune, such as a hypothetical flight between Portland, Ore. and Los Angeles that crashed into the Pacific after deviating from its flight plan to ensure landing gear had locked correctly. In such a case, the aircraft's flight had no relationship to traditional maritime activity.

As you can tell, these matters are very complex. If you or a family member is injured in an aviation accident, you should consult an aviation attorney with the knowledge to understand which laws will be applicable in your particular case.