Duty of care is a legal term referring to the obligation to comply with a certain standard of conduct to protect someone from unreasonable risk of harm. In a personal injury or negligence case, you must be able to prove the person (or entity) that did the injuring — the defendant — had a duty…
Continue readingAfter landing at Santa Monica Airport late last month, a Cessna Citation 525A jet skidded into a hangar, killing all of the passengers on the plane, and causing an enormous explosion. First responders arrived within three minutes, but the fire spread to two other hangars and was already out of control when help arrived. The…
Continue readingThe Safegate Aircraft Docking Guidance System is being implemented at Los Angeles International Airport to increase runway safety and efficiency. SAFEDOCK is a fully automatic system based on a laser scanning technique that tracks jets taxiing into the terminal. This new system uses a laser to identify and guide aircraft types to an accurate stop position.…
Continue readingEver watch the airport runway workers with the orange wands signaling to a huge jet so that it can get in to a gate ? Airline pilots at Los Angeles International Airport (“LAX”) have parked jets in exactly the same way for decades. The airport marshals with the orange glow sticks could be seen in…
Continue readingAfter a pilot’s texting was found to contribute to a fatal helicopter crash in 2011, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a recommendation to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that it prohibit crew members aboard commuter and on-demand service flights from using portable electronic devices for non-operational uses while the aircraft are operating. The…
Continue readingAirline passengers are accustomed to the announcement to power off all electronic devices during take-off and landing, and to set cell phones on “airplane mode” during the rest of the flight. How is it, then, that the pilot in a 2011 helicopter crash was found to have been texting during an ill-fated flight that killed…
Continue readingWhere does responsibility lie when an aircraft crashes? Weather? Pilot error? Defective Craft? Just as manufacturers of cars and trucks will try to shift the blame to the unsuspecting drivers of unsafe motor vehicles, product makers and suppliers in aircraft product liability cases often try to put the onus on the pilots. Negligent design and…
Continue readingDouglas K. Landau Visit Super Lawyers Choosing an attorney to handle an accident or injury case in or around an airport or aircraft can be a daunting task. The nuances of airport injury law are many, and the best way to select an attorney is to find someone who has experience — real, courtroom…
Continue readingWhen we were kids, there were always arguments about who got to “go first.” But at the airport, this question takes on great importance. With large jets, small luggage tugs, turbo props and fuel trucks all using the same surface area, air travelers wonder how chaos is avoided when there are no “aircraft traffic cops”…
Continue readingIn a recent Florida case, a man was killed when the 11-foot tall bus he was riding at Miami International Airport struck an 8-foot-6-inch overpass. The victim’s family is suing the bus driver and the owner/operator of the bus, citing negligence on the part of both the driver and the company. Read more about the…
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