Aviation

/Overview

Aviation businesses need advisors who can foresee the regulatory, business, and legal needs of their industry and guide them through NTSB, FAA, and foreign accident investigations; public hearings; and regulatory inquiries with prompt, efficient, and aggressive defenses.

We combine legal acumen and trial experience with aviation and technical backgrounds. Many of our attorneys are pilots or have engineering degrees.

We are national and international litigation defense counsel in wrongful death, personal injury, and property damage suits. And we advise on regulatory and commercial matters, efficient risk-management solutions, and product integrity procedures designed to avoid litigation.

Our record of producing successful results and maintaining long-term client relationships is exceptional.

Rely on our team to tailor your aviation defense.

/Representative experience

• Secured a unanimous defense verdict in Broward County, Florida, state court for French aircraft company Daher-Socata Aerospace, a case that was featured as #4 in CVN's Top 10 Most Impressive Defense Verdicts of 2018. After a three-week trial, the jury agreed that pilot error caused the crash of the single-engine TBM 850, and that the plane is safe and free of any defect.
• Counsel of record for Airbus in a bet-the-company complex commercial case following the fatal crash of a CHC Helicopter-owned H225 in the North Sea. The case was favorably resolved during trial.
• Defense counsel for Avions de Transport Regional (ATR) in connection with the crash of Conviasa Airlines Flight #2350 at Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela
• Secured a unanimous jury verdict for global aviation manufacturer Eurocopter, S.A.S. and its Texas-based distributor American Eurocopter Corporation. After a three-week trial, the twelve-member jury rejected the plaintiffs’ product defect theories against our clients and fully exonerated the Eurocopter product.
• Defense counsel for Avions de Transport Regional (ATR) in connection with the CTSB investigation and litigation arising from the accident of West Wind Aviation's Flight #280 at Fond-du-Lac, Saskatchewan, Canada
• Defense counsel for Avions de Transport Regional (ATR) in connection with the crash of Aero Caribbean S.A. Flight # 883 near Guasimal in Sancti Spiritus Province, Cuba. Obtained complete dismissal on personal jurisdiction grounds
• Defense counsel for Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority in connection with the NTSB investigation and claims arising from the Reno Air Races accident involving the modified P-51D Mustang “Galloping Ghost”
• Defense counsel for Avions de Transport Regional (ATR) in connection with hull subrogation litigation arising from the landing accident of Calm Air International’s Flight MO515 at Churchill, Manitoba
• Defense counsel for Avions de Transport Regional (ATR) in connection with the crash of Lao Airlines at Kone Kho Island, Mekong River, Pakse, Laos. Obtained complete dismissal on personal jurisdiction grounds

/Recognition

• Legal 500 United States 2024—Ranked for Transport - Aviation and air travel: litigation and regulation