Legal

On Wednesday, November 4, 2020, Alan Armstrong argued Tuscola Area Airport Authority v. Dickson, Case Nos. 19-1153, 19-1258, before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

In this article we will examine some of the mistakes I have seen made by pilots and aircraft owners over the years. Hopefully, you can learn from their mistakes and not duplicate them. The topics outlined below are not an exhaustive list of the problems my clients have encountered, but they will give you an appreciation for some of the pitfalls associated with the purchase of an aircraft.

Aircraft mechanic’s liens are the bane of aircraft repair facilities and lawyers. Unlike a lawsuit on account, a mechanic’s lien affords the repair facility or aircraft mechanic leverage. An unpaid lien asserted against an aircraft may prevent the aircraft owner from selling the aircraft until and unless he pays the mechanic’s lien...

The FAA in an Order issued March 25, 2020, rescinded and refused to extend the exemption for the Collings Foundation to operate former military aircraft that served in World War II as part of Living History Flights.  The FAA has a policy of permitting Living History Flight Experiences.[1]  In this article, we will review and…

In an extraordinary act, the FAA has promulgated an enforcement policy notice declaring that it will not take enforcement action against airmen whose medical certificates expire from March 31, 2020 through June 30, 2020.  This policy will remain in force and effect through June 30, 2020. There are two very important items to note in…

Today, the Tuscola Area Airport Authority, the Friends of Tuscola Airport Authority, Inc., and other concerned governmental entities and private citizens caused to be filed with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia the Initial Brief of Petitioners in the case styled: Tuscola Area Airport Authority, et al. v. Stephen Dickson, Administrator,…

Alan Armstrong speaks to us about Aerial Demonstrations and Dynamic Maneuvering.

DOT drug testing is an unmitigated disaster.  The failures and abuses of DOT drug testing are being imposed on airmen who, if they cannot provide a sufficient quantity of urine, must confess to having a drug problem, even if they do not, if they want to fly.  Even though Congress has directed the Secretary of…

Scientists are just coming to appreciate the problems large fields of WTGs can cause for Air Traffic Control Radar and Weather Radar facilities. Wind turbine generators (WTGs) are increasingly littering the landscape. However, their adverse impact on primary and secondary radar as well as Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) is just becoming appreciated. WTGs are…

The explosion of wind turbine developments across the United States does not bode well for the continued viability of many public use airports. Overview of the Problem Increasingly, wind farms with wind turbine generators (WTGs) nearly 500 feet above ground level litter the landscape.  However, the disturbing reality is that these wind farms are being…