Air and Space Law Commons^™

A Re-Examination Of Tarmac Delays Causes And Solutions, P. Paul Fitzgerald

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

Not In My Backyard: State V. Quiday And Warrantless Aerial Police Surveillance, Hayden Brown

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

Flying In The Face Of Suspicionless Cell Phone Searches: Fourth Circuit Grants Airline Passengers Heightened Protection From Searches By Customs Officers, Andrea Delorimier

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

The 1,500-Hour Rule: When Does Quantity Outweigh Quality?, Andrea Traut

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

Preserving Humanity’S Heritage In Space: Fifty Years After Apollo 11 And Beyond, Andrea J. Harrington

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

As numerous governments and commercial entities plan ambitious expeditions into outer space and to celestial bodies, humanity’s heritage in space is threatened. Fifty years following the Apollo 11 landing, we have recognized the historic, scientific, and cultural importance of this event and other spacefaring firsts, but the existing means to protect the resulting heritage is inadequate. This Article examines the protections currently available to those objects and sites that represent the great achievements of humankind in using and exploring space, with a focus on Tranquility Base—the Apollo 11 landing site. Existing protections are analyzed under both cultural heritage law and …

Space, The Final Frontier For Negligence Suits—Why Commercial Space Operators Should Be Liable For Personal Injuries To Space Flight Participants, Andrea Reed

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

The commercial space transportation industry is rapidly approaching the first launches of paying passengers into space—a technological and legal milestone for the maturing sector. Unfortunately, the liability regime governing the relationship between commercial space operators and spaceflight participants inadequately protects private passengers’ safety and financial interests. As part of the Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015 (CSLCA), Congress enacted negligence waiver and informed consent requirements that shift almost all legal liability onto spaceflight participants for death or bodily injury caused by an operator’s negligence. Private citizens should not bear the risk of these accidents.

This Comment argues that Congress …

Editor's Note

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

Airlines Aren’T Just Carrying Passengers And Cargo Anymore—They’Re Also Carrying The Burden Of The American Conflict Of Laws System, Kaylee Knowlton Henson

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

This Comment begins by walking through the current conflict of laws system in the United States and explores the application of general conflict of laws rules and three major issues that accompany the current system, which leaves conflict of laws rules in the hands of state legislatures to determine. The Comment then moves to conflict of laws in aviation cases specifically and explains the unique nature of the aviation industry and why such regulation is needed in this field of law. Following, the Comment analyzes Congress’s power under the Commerce Clause to determine whether federal regulation is in fact a …

Preventing Drunk Flying: A Legislative Solution, John Sivils

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

Drunk flying poses a serious safety risk to airline passengers. The current system of detecting pilot intoxication and preventing drunk flying relies on the vigilance of coworkers, and statutes prohibiting “operating” an airplane while intoxicated. Courts have stretched the meaning of “operating” to criminalize pre-flight conduct, such as fueling and visual airplane checks. When viewed in conjunction with courts’ inconsistent and varied application of preemption doctrine to federal and state regulations of flying, it is evident that courts are tightening control over flight and pre-flight activities through complex judicial interpretation of facially simple statutes. This Article scrutinizes this approach through …

Front Matter

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

Federal Rule 26(A)(2) Expert Witness Disclosures: Strategies For Composing And Attacking Expert Disclosures, Douglas B. Bates, Chelsea R. Stanley, James L. Burt Iii

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(A)(2) governs disclosure of expert testimony. The rule purports to create a clear delineation between experts that must provide a written report and those that do not. The rule then outlines the disclosure requirements that must be satisfied as to each type of expert. This article focuses on the implications of Rule 26(A)(2) in practice, with an emphasis on the field of aviation litigation. The article begins by discussing the general difference between non-retained experts and retained experts and the disclosure requirements associated with each. The article then progresses into a series of practice pointers …

Airport Security Screeners: In Your Face And Above The Law, Luke Strieber

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

Why Jurisdiction Over Airmen Enforcement And Certificate Cases Should Be Transferred From The National Transportation Safety Board To Federal District Court, Alan Armstrong

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

Atc Privitization: A Solution In Search Of A Problem, Ross W. Neher

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

With recent headlines such as “Trump Budget Includes ATC Giveaway” and “Trump Calls for Air Traffic Control Spin-Off in Budget,” privatization of air traffic control (ATC) services in the United States is a hot-button political issue. Indeed, USA Today reports that President Donald Trump’s call to privatize ATC was “one of his top priorities” in his 2017 budget. And, for the first time, legislation (H.R. 2997) privatizing the ATC made it out of committee.

The discussion of ATC privatization is nothing new. Since the 1980s, several countries have privatized the management and funding of their respective ATC services. And over …

Federal Accident Investigations: Civil Litigation Viewpoint, Jill Dahlmann Rosa

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

While aviation accident investigations have come a long way from the days when they were completely shrouded in secrecy, friction still remains between investigation and litigation. Investigations are key for identifying facts, witnesses, and areas of focus. The investigation reports, however, might be excluded from trial, and litigation experts can be excluded from trial as well if they rely solely on investigation findings without conducting their own analysis. Although the federal government spends money and effort investigating accidents, the reports are not completed with evidentiary admissibility in mind. Courts are increasingly concerned by double hearsay and other evidentiary problems that …

Make Airlines Great Again: Why Bankruptcy Went From A Dirty Word To A Strategy, And A Proposal To Bring It Back, Klayton Sweitzer Hiland

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

Here Comes The Boom: Reevaluating The Merits Of Faa Prohibition On Civil Supersonic Flight, Jonathan Petree

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

Solving The Space Debris Crisis, Paul B. Larsen

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

Space debris is a growing public safety problem. As described by the Kessler Syndrome, the increasing accumulation of debris will soon hinder and eventually preclude access to outer space unless the trend is swiftly reversed. The Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee’s (IADC) Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines, as adopted by the United Nations (UN) Committee for the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), are voluntary but are enforced as mandatory regulations by major space powers; however, the guidelines only apply to new debris. The European Space Agency’s (ESA) 2017 Space Debris Conference concluded that existing space debris guidelines are inadequate and …

Welcome To The Jungle: The Application Of Foreign Law In Aircraft Accident Litigation, Bryan S. David

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

Ordinarily, all legally significant aspects pertaining to a lawsuit emanate from a single state (usually the state where the lawsuit was filed), and the court assigned to the lawsuit decides the case based strictly upon the laws of that state. However, by its very nature, aircraft accident litigation often arises from factual scenarios involving people and aircraft emanating from multiple states and even multiple nations. And those scenarios often raise questions regarding which law will apply. The body of law known alternatively as “conflict of laws” or “choice of laws” was specially designed to answer those questions.

However, over the …

Minimum International Norms For Managing Space Traffic, Space Debris, And Near Earth Object Impacts, Paul B. Larsen

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

Navigating The Federal Sentencing Guidelines: Considerations Of Equitable Impact After United States V. Trinidad, Jonathan Petree

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

A Cure From Rome For Montreal’S Illness: Article 5 Of The Rome I Regulation And Filling The Void In The 1999 Montreal Convention’S Regulation Of Carrier’S Liability For Personal Injury, Yehya I. Ibrahim Badr

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

An examination of the 1999 Montreal Convention shows that the drafters did not intend to lay down a comprehensive treaty that would organize a carrier’s liability for personal injury to passengers. They opted to achieve a certain level of uniformity through enacting a set of rules that tackled several key issues such as the grounds for a carrier’s liability, the available defenses, and the limits on the recoverable damages. Consequently, some unaddressed issues created a void in the Montreal Convention and were then left without a clear remedy. In this article, a distinction is made between two types of voids: …

Front Matter

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

Regulatory Schizophrenia: Mergers, Alliances, Metal-Neutral Joint Ventures And The Emergence Of A Global Aviation Cartel, Paul S. Dempsey

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

As The Grapefruit Turns Sixty, It’S Time To Get Serious About Clean Up In Outer Space, Humaid Alshamsi, Roy Balleste, Michelle L. D. Hanlon

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

The ability to physically interact with an on-orbit object is an idea that has been stymied by its great cost. Yet the rewards are incalculable. Autonomous on-orbit servicing (OOS) vehicles can potentially repair or salvage an ailing satellite or remove it from orbit. The former can help recoup the considerable investment that goes into the development and construction of a satellite, and the latter would reduce space debris. In short, the development of OOS should be promoted. This paper will explore the legal ramifications and complications of unmanned on-orbit servicing missions. After reviewing the international framework and the current state …

Unmaking A National Space Legislation For India: Indigenizing Space Law Through The “Organic Science” Of The Indian Space Program, S. G. Sreejith

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

War And (Labor) Peace: How The Ninth Circuit Changed The Rules Of Engagement For Service Providers And Organized Labor, Klayton Sweitzer Hiland

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.