Aviation & Space Law

Family Sues American Airlines After Man Eats International Flight Meal and Dies

A 73-year-old Florida man contacted food poisoning and died shortly eating an in-flight meal on American Airlines, according to his family, and they recently filed a lawsuit against the carrier in the U.S. District Court in Miami. Othon Cortes was flying from Barcelona to New York when he ate a…

Dec 2, 2011 4:15 PM CST

American Eagle Fined $900K in First Penalty Levied re Passengers Waiting Over 3 Hours on Tarmac

For those wondering how aggressively the U.S. Department of Transportation intends to enforce a new rule requiring airlines not to keep domestic passengers sitting for more than 3 hours in planes waiting on the tarmac, a $900,000 fine assessed against American Eagle Airlines provides an answer. The penalty resulted from…

Nov 14, 2011 7:15 PM CST

Freak NE Snowstorm Strands Air Passengers on Tarmac, Testing New DOT Regs, and Closes Courthouses

An unusual October snowstorm wreaked havoc on northeastern states, stranding passengers of multiple airplanes on the tarmac for more than seven hours over the weekend and closing a number of courthouses today. The situation was exacerbated by a record number of power outages, and it is expected to take over…

Oct 31, 2011 6:15 PM CDT

Longtime Administrative Lawyer, 88, Once a Pilot Shot Down in World War II, Now Looks to the Stars

A former U.S. Air Force pilot who lost a leg after being shot down over Germany in World War II, Bill Kraham survived, although he lost part of a leg as a result of the crash, and went on to become a lawyer. He worked for the Federal Aviation Administration…

Oct 5, 2011 6:28 PM CDT

FBI: Skyjacker May Have Survived ‘71 Parachute Jump With $200K, Died of Natural Causes Decades Later

A hijacker who parachuted from a Boeing 727 over the Pacific Northwest with a $200,000 ransom in 1971 and has never been found despite one of the most extensive manhunts of the 20th century may have survived the dangerous night leap into rugged territory. Agent Fred Gutt of the Federal…

Aug 2, 2011 12:28 AM CDT

Lawyer’s Abandoned Laptop Bag Shuts Down JFK Terminal

A bomb-sniffing dog that sat on or near a lawyer’s abandoned laptop bag spurred an hour-and-a-half shutdown of an American Airlines terminal at JFK Airport yesterday. Authorities called in the Bomb Squad after the dog indicated the bag might contain explosives by sitting on or near it it, report the…

Jul 26, 2011 12:38 PM CDT

Woman Sues Jet Blue, Says She Was Kicked Off Flight Until She Could Prove She Had Underwear On

A New York financial consultant has filed a state-court lawsuit against Jet Blue, contending that the discount carrier refused to fly her to Florida until she could prove she had underwear on. Escorted off a plane earlier this month, Malinda Knowles, 27, says she had to pull up her t-shirt…

Jul 22, 2011 4:44 PM CDT

Fishing Captain Fights Court Battle for Moon Rock He Says He Saved from Museum Trash

A piece of the moon presented to the state of Alaska in 1969 by President Richard M. Nixon was missing for almost 37 years. But it surfaced against last year, after a lawyer who has made it his life mission to track down the 230 moon rocks presented to various…

Jul 12, 2011 9:21 PM CDT

Aviation Lawyer Sues over Airline Fees, Claims Violations of International Law

An aviation lawyer from Spain is targeting airline add-on fees in suits that cite international law. Dan Miró has targeted more than 60 airlines in legal actions filed on behalf of consumers, the New York Times reports. He has one high-profile win based on his own experience with Ryanair. Miró…

Jun 27, 2011 11:00 AM CDT

Family of Teen Stowaway Who Allegedly Fell From Plane Wheel Well Blames Lax Security, Plans to Sue

While Delvonte Tisdale didn’t make a good decision when he reportedly stowed away in the wheel well of a USAirways plane at the Charlotte, N.C., airport, the 16-year-old high school student wouldn’t be dead but for the lax security that allowed him access to the flight last year, his family…

Jan 19, 2011 5:23 PM CST

Stuck on Snowy Airport Tarmac Nearly 12 Hours, Passengers Weren’t Covered by New Deplaning Rule

After airline passengers complained about sometimes being stranded for hours on the tarmac without food and other amenities, due to unusual weather conditions, new federal regulations were adopted holding carriers responsible for such delays and requiring that passengers be able to deplane after three hours. But they don’t apply to…

Dec 29, 2010 3:55 PM CST

New Airport ‘Sex Assault’ Search Sparks Pilot Suit and Passenger Civil Disobedience Campaign

A recording of a man refusing what the Transportation Security Administration refers to as a “standard pat down” search at the San Diego airport over the weekend and what he calls a “sexual assault” has gone viral, adding additional impetus to a grassroots movement urging passengers to refuse new x-ray…

Nov 17, 2010 4:52 PM CST

Class Action Partner Sues Over Price of Delta Airline Ticket Sold to His Wife, Seeks Punitives

When a Delta Airlines representative sold a $3,000 coach ticket to Israel to Susan Izard and then allegedly admitted, later in the same conversation, that a business-class ticket could have been purchased for several hundred dollars less, she apparently didn’t know who she was dealing with. Izard is the wife…

Nov 3, 2010 5:41 PM CDT

Flight Attendant Slides to Notoriety on Exit Chute After Passenger Dispute

It isn’t all that unusual to hear of an airline passenger being arrested after a confrontation with a flight attendant. But a JetBlue attendant has become something of an unlikely folk hero following his arrest after a confrontation with a passenger. During the incident, Steven Slater allegedly suffered a head…

Aug 10, 2010 9:04 PM CDT

Lawyer Who Googled His Name Found Offensive Post Too Late, Judge Says

An aviation lawyer who Googled his name at a seminar on client relations in early 2009 didn’t like what he found. Lawyer Alan Wolk discovered an April 2007 blog entry at Overlawyered.com questioning a case settlement for one of his clients. He filed suit about a month later, but that…

Aug 6, 2010 1:55 PM CDT