The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that the statute of repose created under the General Aviation Revitalization Act (“GARA”) provides an aircraft’s individual component parts’ manufacturers the same protections as the aircraft manufacturer itself, even where the part in question is used and becomes incorporated on a later delivered aircraft that is not entitled to protection. 
Read More When Used Parts are as Good as New – Ninth Circuit Rules GARA’s Statute of Repose Trigger Date Applies Equally to Both

In a decision likely to impact foreign nationals as well as airlines, airports, and related insurers, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a lower court ruling which held that a Malaysian citizen studying in the U.S. has legal standing to sue in U.S. courts to challenge the mistaken presence of her name on the No-Fly List. 
Read More Ninth Circuit Affirms Foreign Nationals’ Standing to Challenge “No-Fly List” Inclusion

The Commercial Court has held that an aviation contractor was not entitled to the value of aircraft engine parts that were being refurbished by a subcontractor because the subcontractor’s obligations ended when the sub-contract was terminated. 
Read More UK: Aviation Contractor Cannot Recover Value of Parts from Saudi King’s Jet

In the recent case of Tony Hook v British Airways plc (2011) EWHC 379 (QB), the High Court was asked to consider whether UK and EU aviation legislation created a private law cause of action sounding in damages in relation to alleged disability discrimination by an airline. 
Read More UK: High Court Upholds Exclusivity of Montreal Convention 1999 in Respect of Disabled Passengers

The ash cloud from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano that shut down much of Europe’s air space in April 2010 has been held to be an example of “extraordinary circumstances” under Art 5(3) of EC Regulation 261/2004 (the Regulation), exempting airlines from paying compensation for the cancellation of flights. 
Read More UK/EU: Ash Cloud Constitutes “Extraordinary Circumstances” for Airlines Under EC Regulation 261

EAPD’s Mark Meyer and Brian Green are attending the Aviation Insurance Association’s Annual Conference in Vancouver, Canada.  The conference is well-attended and informative.  There were several interesting CIE sessions on Sunday, including a discussion of the criminalization of aviation accidents.  Our speaker explained that the trend is that in Europe and Latin America, investigations into accidents also often included criminal investigations, and sometimes indictments, of the pilots, flight controllers and others who were claimed to be involved in the accident. 
Read More Aviation Insurance Association Annual Conference – Update