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General Aviation Lawsuit

General aviation crashes claimed the lives of nearly 200 people in 2023 alone. Learn about general aviation lawsuits.

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Case Overview

Being injured or losing a loved one in an airplane crash is an ordeal that few people are prepared to handle alone. Aside from the emotional trauma, it can be difficult to know how to hold responsible parties accountable. The Motley Rice aviation law team is equipped to help you handle the aftermath of a general aviation aircraft disaster that leads to personal injury or wrongful death.

Key takeaways about general aviation lawsuits

  • According to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), most flights in America are general aviation (GA).
  • GA flights have a higher crash rate than commercial aviation flights.
  • Pilot error is the leading cause of GA aircraft crashes.

What is general aviation?

General aviation (GA) includes the vast majority of aircraft flights in America. General aviation aircraft may range from small Piper or Cessna aircraft to private business jets with intercontinental range.

Typically, flights that are not scheduled air services or charter flights are considered GA. Here are the types of flights that are considered GA:

  • Air Tours
  • Banner towing
  • Crop dusting
  • Firefighting
  • Flight training
  • Medical evacuation
  • Pipeline patrols
  • Private aircraft
  • Recreational flying

Commercial and military flights are not considered general aviation.

General aviation safety: fatal crash stats

According to the National Safety Council, there was one fatal GA plane crash per 100,000 flight hours in 2022. This was nearly 15,000% higher than the fatal crash rates for commercial aircraft in the same year.

Liability shield for general aviation manufacturers

The General Aviation Revitalization Act (GARA) of 1994 shields manufacturers of aircraft and aircraft parts from liability based on aircraft size and age. GARA attempted to reverse the general aviation industry’s decline, which some attributed to the cost of product liability. 

The legislation established an 18-year statute of repose for new aircraft and replacement aircraft parts. Any legal claims for injuries would have to be filed within 18 years of the aircraft entering the “stream of commerce” or the new or replacement component being installed on the aircraft.

Statute of limitations vs. statute of repose

A statute of limitations places an expiration date on a plaintiff’s right to file a lawsuit for a claimed harm. Once that date passes, a person can no longer file a lawsuit for that harm.

A statute of repose also sets a time limit on a person’s right to sue. But the time limit isn’t based on the harm occurring – it’s based on an event that doesn’t cause harm. In Georgia, for example, a person can only sue for a product liability defect within 10 years of the first sale of the product. There are generally some exceptions to statutes of repose.

GARA includes exceptions for: 

  • Fraud
  • Medical transports
  • People injured on the ground
  • Re-negotiated written warranties

The logic behind GARA is that if an aircraft has flown for more than 18 years before an accident occurred, the aircraft’s “warnings or design” are not the likely cause.

GARA helped the general aviation industry thrive. But it may have shifted liability for crashes to aircraft dealers, aircraft owners, maintenance facilities, mechanics, pilots and other individuals or entities.

Contact a general aviation accident attorney

If you or a loved one has been harmed in an aviation-related accident, Motley Rice can provide a case evaluation to see how we might help. 

Please contact Motley Rice aviation attorneys Mary Schiavo or James Brauchle by email or call our 24-Hour Aviation Hotline at 1.800.868.6456.

Types of private plane crash lawsuits

Several types of GA lawsuits are filed every year. Below are some types of lawsuits that law firms often handle. In some cases, many of these factors may contribute to a single lawsuit.

Pilot error

Pilot error is often the leading cause of aircraft fatalities in a given year. In 2020, pilot error caused more than 69% of general aviation fatalities. Pilot error includes incorrect decision-making, flight training or other procedural mistakes. 

Manufacturing and design defects

Product liability lawsuits for general aviation products are complicated, especially because defendants may be able to invoke GARA protection. Also, aircraft and their parts are meant to be used by highly trained professionals, which creates higher standards than typical consumer products.

Manufacturing and design defects lawsuits may also focus on “risk-benefit” standards that weigh whether there was a safer design that wasn’t too costly and didn’t offer other risks.

Despite GARA, general aviation crash victims have won judgments and settlements against companies that manufacture aircraft and components.

Faulty maintenance

Airplanes require frequent maintenance to keep them operating safely. Studies on the percentage of maintenance-related plane crashes vary from 7% to 20%, with differences in methodology possibly explaining the variance.

The Motley Rice team includes an aviation maintenance expert to analyze whether clients’ injuries or loss of a loved one was related to maintenance errors.

Air traffic control errors

Vigilant Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic controllers are critical to keeping airports and aircraft safe. An air traffic controller’s failure can quickly lead to an air disaster like the crash between a private jet and a tour helicopter over the Hudson River in 2009.

The Motley Rice aviation team has the regulatory and procedural knowledge to find out who needs to be held accountable.

Frequently asked questions about general aviation accidents

What falls under general aviation?

Aircraft flights that are not part of charters or regularly scheduled service are considered general aviation (GA). This includes flights for dusting crops, towing banners, fighting fires, evacuating injured people, patrolling pipelines, pilot training and recreation.

Can I sue for injuries from a private plane crash?

It may be possible to sue for personal injury or on behalf of a deceased loved one. An aviation law attorney can evaluate the facts of your case and assess your eligibility to file a general aviation lawsuit against an aircraft manufacturer, regulatory agency, aircraft owners or other parties.

Our private plane crash lawsuit experience

The Motley Rice aviation litigation team has the expertise to uncover parties responsible for an air crash, seek justice for plaintiffs and advocate for changes that make aviation safer.

Mary Schiavo is an attorney, author and former U.S. Department of Transportation inspector general. She has won numerous awards recognizing her aviation expertise and is a sought-after legal, aviation and transportation expert. She is the author of The Blameless Blue Sky® aviation book series and has been a guest on numerous media outlets worldwide. Mary is committed to making aviation safer for the public – and to highlighting opportunities to change policies and practices to prevent crashes and loss of life. She has represented victims and survivors of numerous aircraft crashes, including the Sept. 11 hijackings.

Former Air Force navigator James Brauchle has more than two decades of experience with aviation cases. He is instrumental in understanding details from aircraft wreckage and flight reconstructions. Jim represents families of those who lost their lives in the Boeing MAX tragedies and handles cases involving manufacturers of both commercial and GA aircraft.

Mary and Jim lead an experienced team of aviation law professionals to pursue accountability in the aftermath of aviation disasters while working to also try and avoid similar tragedies in the future.

Talk to an aviation attorney today.

What is general aviation?

Liability shield for general aviation manufacturers

Types of private plane crash lawsuits

Frequently asked questions about general aviation accidents

Our private plane crash lawsuit experience

About the Author

Sources
  1. Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. General Aviation Explained.
  2. AVweb. Aviation Product Liability.
  3. AVweb. GARA: A Status Report.
  4. CT Insider. Is flying private more dangerous than flying commercial?
  5. Federal Aviation Administration. General Aviation Maintenance-Related Accidents: A Review of Ten Years of NTSB Data.
  6. Florida Tech. What is General Aviation?
  7. Lexology. Understanding Statutes of Repose.
  8. Pilot institute. Why Do Aircraft Crash?
  9. National Safety Council. Airplane Crashes.
  10. Schwartz et al., The General Aviation Revitalization Act: How Rational Civil Justice Reform Revitalized an Industry, 67 J. AIR L. & COM. 1269 (2002).