Ebook: Practical Aviation & Aerospace Law

Practical Aviation and Aerospace Law is designed to be used in conjunction
with the Practical Aviation and Aerospace Law Workbook as a university text
for aviation and aerospace law courses and, standing alone, as a reference
guide for aviation and aerospace business managers, pilots, mechanics,
aircraft owners, and others involved in aviation by vocation or avocation.
Originally titled simply Practical Aviation Law, beginning with the first
edition in 1991 and continuing through the fifth edition in 2011, the book has
continuously grown in response to industry developments and instructor
feedback. In much of the world, aviation is generally considered to be
included in the term “aerospace industry,” but in the United States, a
distinction has persisted, with the term “aviation industry” generally
encompassing operations, repair and maintenance, while “aerospace
industry” is used to refer to aircraft, spacecraft, and component design and
manufacturing, and now also spaceflight operations. With the recent
expansion of the number of companies engaged in commercial spacecraft
design and manufacturing, and most of these companies engaging in or
preparing to engage in operation of those spacecraft (beyond the flight test
phase) for commercial purposes, it appeared timely to add a new chapter
covering the law of commercial spaceflight operations in this edition. The
addition of “and Aerospace” to the title signifies the book’s expanded scope
for this and subsequent editions. The author of this new chapter (the first
contributed by another author since the book’s inception) is Dr. Sarah
Nilsson, Assistant Professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s
Prescott, Arizona, campus, whose research interests encompass this topic.
Except for certain treaties having worldwide or at least multinational effect,
the scope of previous editions of the book has been limited to the law of the
United States and may have had little relevance to the domestic laws of other
nations. In keeping with the truly global nature of the aviation and aerospace
industries and in recognition of the worldwide employment opportunities that
offers, this edition begins what is likely to be a long-term effort to continuallyexpand the global perspective. The book does not attempt to explore the
entire seamless web of the law—only those areas particularly applicable to
aviation and aerospace. I recommend that students considering a career in
aviation and aerospace, whether in operations, maintenance, engineering,
manufacturing or business management, also take courses in business law
and aviation labor relations. While there is some overlap between the content
of those courses and this text, those give much broader and deeper coverage
of some of the legal concepts and principles studied here.
As the title suggests, this book takes a practical viewpoint. It aims to
provide the reader with basic legal knowledge and perspectives along with an
understanding of how the legal system works in relation to aviation and
aerospace activities. It aims to provide that in a form that can be applied to
help you recognize and avoid common legal pitfalls, and to recognize when
the moment has come to stop what you are doing and consult your lawyer. If
this book had a subtitle, it would be How to Avoid Aviation Lawyers and
When to Call One.
No book can hope to advise you what to do in every conceivable situation.
In advising our clients, lawyers must take into consideration not only the law
but also the facts and circumstances. In over thirty-five years of practicing
law—in private practice, as government and later corporate counsel—I
represented clients in well over three thousand aviation matters involving
every subject in this book, and never saw two identical cases. While similar
facts give rise to similar considerations, slight differences in the facts and
circumstances often lead to major differences in the best approach to solving
the problem. Examples in this book and its accompanying workbook are
drawn largely from cases I encountered in my practice.
The law itself is also in a constant state of change. Even as I write, the
Congress of the United States, fifty state legislatures, and a vast number of
administrative agencies are daily making changes to statutes and regulations,
while hundreds of federal and state courts are writing and publishing case
decisions on the interpretation, application, and constitutionality of those
laws and regulations, along with decisions that modify, clarify, or sometimes
confuse the common law. Simultaneously, U.S. diplomats are negotiating
with their foreign counterparts new or amended treaties to be ratified by their
governments. Such changes as have occurred since the fifth edition of this
book was published are one reason for this expanded and updated sixthedition.
While this process of continual change keeps the lawyer’s work from
becoming routine to the point of boredom, it also means that what was good
advice yesterday (or the day this book went to press) may no longer be good
advice today. While the fundamental legal principles discussed in this book
are less susceptible to sudden obsolescence than, say, a text on the Internal
Revenue Code and IRS Regulations, you are cautioned not to attempt to
solve actual individual legal problems on the basis of information contained
in this book. Finding yourself faced with an actual legal problem, you should
recognize that the time has come to consult your lawyer.