December 2017

The long and tortured path to mandatory registration of all hobby aircraft appears finally to be at an end.  After a seven month hiatus, the law is changing once again, and the registration requirement is being reinstated.

As most of you will remember, the FAA unexpectedly issued regulations on an emergency basis just before Christmas 2015 that required all hobby aircraft under .55 pounds to be registered with the FAA. 
Continue Reading “Sir/Madam, Show Me Your License and Registration”

Flight attendants play a vital role in commercial air transportation.  Not only do they help facilitate travel, they also serve a critical function in the event of an emergency.  In addition, according to a new ruling from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, statements made by flight attendants to opposing counsel in a lawsuit can bind the company.

That ruling comes in a somewhat unusual context.  In 2016, the Plaintiff, Regina Raub, was injured while traveling on a US Airways flight from Cancun, Mexico to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania when the aircraft unexpectedly encountered some turbulence. 
Continue Reading “This is Your Flight Attendant Speaking . . .”

State and local governments have not been shy about attempting to regulate almost every aspect of drone operations.  Some of these efforts have been completely appropriate and aimed at areas subject to local control, such as prevention of stalking and voyeurism.  However, all too often, state and local governments have also turned their attention to issues completely under federal control.

One example of just such an ill advised ordinance was passed by the City of Newton, Massachusetts in December 2016.  This law:
Continue Reading UAS: Preemption Means Preemption!!

Originally posted August 11, 2017

Today, we turn our attention to the latest chapter in a long saga concerning the scope of federal preemption over product liability claims made against manufacturers of certificated aviation component parts.  Back in 2014, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania ruled that design defect claims against certificated product manufacturers were completely preempted by the Federal Aviation Act.  In 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reversed, finding that the certification process does not automatically preempt the entire field of safe design.  The Court of Appeals did, however, leave open the possibility that under the right facts, liability under state tort law might be incompatible with the Federal Aviation Regulations, producing enough of a conflict to preempt state law, and ordered the lower court to take anther look at the issue.
Continue Reading Federal Pre-emption and Aircraft Certification: You Have to Read This Opinion!!