Aviation Law Is Broader Than You Think

• Author: Oran F. Whiting
• Pages: 30-30

Published in Litigation News Volume 47, Number 2, Winter 2022. © 20 22 by the American Bar A ssociation. Repro duced with permissio n. All rights reser ved. This informati on or any portion the reof may not be copie d or disseminated in any

form or by any means or sto red in an electronic da tabase or retrieval sy stem without the ex press writt en consent of the Amer ican Bar Associatio n.

BOOK REVIEW

viation law is expanding from a treaty-based special-

ized area of law governing a relatively narrow seg-

ment of commercial enterprise to encompass multiple

areas of law. Technological advancements in manu-

facturing, developments in areas ranging f rom

the operation of drones to space tourism, and the myriad

of issues involved with the business of passenger travel and

cargo/freight operations have inated aviation’s widening

canopy.

A Handbook on Aviation Law (ABA 2017) is an excel-

lent supplementary text for students learning the foundation

and fundamentals of aviation law, as well as a handy, quick

reference guide for practitioners. The authors are experienced

aviation law practitioners with uniquely diverse backgrounds.

One, a military veteran, former prosecutor, and nancial

institution in-house counsel turned aviation practitioner, and

the other, a former claims director for a premier aviation

insurance company, present an introduction to and coherent

coverage of the topic.

Compact at 173 pages and organized for easy reference,

the handbook consists of nine chapters. The authors begin

with a history of and the rationale behind the treaties and

conventions governing aviation liability. They provide a gen-

eral explanation of the scope of an air carrier’s liability from

the international perspective and address delays, baggage and

cargo issues, limitation of actions, contracting parties, and the

applicability of the conventions and treaties to international

carriage.

The authors thereafter expeditiously cover several perti-

nent areas, including accidents and the denitions thereof,

intrusive searches, turbulence, and terrorism. Bodily injury

is addressed and includes, among other topics, discussions

about emotional distress. Embarking and disembarking/

boarding and deplaning, and preemption as well as proce-

dural matters, including jurisdiction, venue, forum non conve-

niens, are dened, dissected, and contextualized. Importantly,

the authors present case and reference citations.

From a U.S. litigator’s perspective, domestic issues preempt

the international; however, domestic matters properly follow

the international perspective in the book.

U.S. regulatory entities, including the Federal Aviation

Administration and National Transportation Safety Board,

are explored as is the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, argu-

ably responsible for the current aviation environment. The

authors then specically address several of the broad array

of issues pertaining to and included under the aviation litiga-

tion canopy, including false arrest/imprisonment, employment

discrimination, bumping, passengers of size, denial of rst-

Aviation Law Is Broader Than

You T hi nk

A Handbook on Aviation Law is available at http://bit.ly/LN472-aviation.

class seats,

and overhead

bin issues, to

name a few.

The authors

recognize the

importance

of removal to

federal court

for liability

purposes by

devoting an

entire chapter

to the topic

and providing

case citations.

The book’s

second half

tackles rela-

tively new,

“non-tradi-

tional” areas

increasingly

common in

aviation matters. Interestingly, the General Aviation

Revitalization Act of 1994, which implements an 18-year

statute of repose for lawsuits against manufacturers of gen-

eral aviation aircraft and component parts, receives its own

chapter, under the title Product Issues. Airport security, the

Airline Passenger Bill of Rights, and the issues of communi-

cable diseases, drones, and emotional support animals each

receive special coverage.

A Handbook on Aviation Law is more than a compen-

dium of cases. It teaches how to initially address aviation

liability-related issues and provides a resource for the basics.

The book serves as a practical reference. The authors cover

most, if not all, of the important issues involved in aviation

litigation.

It neither dwells on the relatively short history of the avia-

tion industry, nor touches on business, nance, economic, or

operational issues. It provides sufcient background to assist

the reader to understand the relatively unknown treaty-based

premise of the law and how it has expanded from a special-

ized part of law to include areas ranging from property to

civil rights. In my view,A Handbook on Aviation Law is a

good starting point for students and a useful, practical refer-

ence guide for practitioners.

By Hon. Oran F. Whiting (Ret.), Litigatio n News Associate Editor

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