Private Airplane Crashes Can be Infrequent, But They Do Occur | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

Private airplane crashes, fortunately, seem to happen only infrequently. When they do happen, personal injury is likely to occur, simply because private airplane crashes, or any airplane crashes for that matter, are totally different than car wrecks or any other incident. For one thing, they usually happen from a much higher altitude, and involve a different sort of “vehicle.”

Private airplane crashes must be investigated not only by local law enforcement agencies but also the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The investigation will be carried out according to FAA guidelines, and the findings of the FAA investigator may even seem to disagree with those of other investigators. This can sometimes cause problems, especially if property damage or personal injury to someone other than the pilot and/or passengers in the plane occurs.

In the case of some private airplane crashes, insurance companies may be reluctant to make payment until it has been determined who or what was actually responsible for the incident. This can cause problems for the pilot, especially if the plane he was flying was not his own. His insurance company may want the plane owners’ insurance company to pay for everything, while the plane owners’ insurance company may not want to pay for anything but damage to the plane itself.

If on-the-ground personal injury or property occurs, as can often happen in private airplane crashes, the insurance companies for those persons or property owners may try to delay payment, in the hopes that other insurance companies will handle everything. This can be frustrating for everyone involved. However, just because private airplane crashes are infrequent does not mean that you cannot educate yourself as to what your options are should one occur.

 

J.M.