All airports holding certificates under Part 139 of the Federal Aviation Regulations are required to have an emergency plan that includes procedures for dealing with potential disasters.  For Class I airports, this includes holding full-scale airport emergency plan exercises on a regular basis.  See 14 CFR § 139.325.  New guidance from the FAA will make it easier for airports to use drones during these exercises. The FAA’s On Airport Unmanned Aircraft System Operations guidance provides important information for airport sponsors, drone…More

A recent decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit provides important protection for airlines and their employees who report potentially suspicious passenger behavior to law enforcement. Airline employees routinely make judgment calls about passenger behavior.  But when does a reasonable security concern become legally protected conduct—and how far does that protection extend if a passenger is injured during the resulting law-enforcement intervention? In Bandary v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., (a copy of which can be found HERE)…More

In the second of our weekly posts on topics from our 2026 Aviation Roundtable, we present the materials from our panel on Suing the United States for FAA Negligence. When negligence by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) contributes to an aviation accident, the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b), may provide a legal avenue for bringing a claim against the United States. Enacted in 1946, the FTCA represents a limited waiver of the federal government’s traditional sovereign immunity…More

We would like to thank those of you who were able to join our fifth annual Aviation roundtable.  The discussions were frank, informative and fun.  For those of you who could not make it, we will be providing the materials for each roundtable on a weekly basis.  Our first roundtable topic was: So, You’re Buying an Aviation Company – Merger and Acquisition Issues in the Aviation Industry.  Aviation transactions require a level of due diligence that goes well beyond traditional corporate,…More

The National Transportation Safety Board operates under a mandate that is almost philosophically distinct from the legal system that surrounds it. The Board does not assign blame. It does not determine liability. It does not adjudicate fault in any legally cognizable sense. Its purpose, codified in federal statute, is to investigate transportation accidents, identify probable causes, and issue safety recommendations designed to prevent recurrence. That mission is safety-forward and non-adversarial—at least in theory. In practice and in reality, where there is…More

Ten years ago, Congress passed Section 2209 of the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act.  That provision required the FAA to establish a process for private owners of critical infrastructure to prevent drone flights near their property.  Unsatisfied with the FAA’s progress, in 2018, the Congress gave the FAA explicit instructions to publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) by March 31, 2019, with a final rule released no later than May 31, 2020.  Needless to say, this deadline was…More

We would like to thank everyone who was able to join us for the live presentation of the latest Aviation Webinar Series, “FAA Reorganization: What You Need to Know.” We are gratified by the huge turnout and positive feedback we have received.  For those of you who may have missed the live presentation you can view it in its entirety by clicking on the link below. The webinar recording is available HERE The slides are available for download HERE…More

For the second time in two years, the FAA has toughened up its enforcement policy for drone operators who violate the Federal Aviation Regulations.  Under normal circumstances, the FAA’s enforcement policy focuses on education and not punishment.  Unless the operator is a repeat offender or there is evidence of knowing misconduct, the FAA assumes that aviators want to be compliant with the rules and the violation was due to a lack of knowledge.  As a result, first offenses almost always result…More

Enhanced counter drone technology will soon be coming to state, local and tribal law enforcement.  As many of you are aware, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Policy issued a legal interpretation a number of years ago stating that a wide array of drone detection technology might violate federal law.  In particular, the legal opinion raised an argument, without resolving it, that state and local law agencies using this technology may be violating the Wiretap Act, the Pen Register Act,…More

We would like to thank everyone who was able to join us for the live presentation of the latest Aviation Webinar Series, “Proposed Rules for Unmanned Aircraft: What You Need to know Now.”  We are gratified by the huge turnout and positive feedback we have received.  For those of you who may have missed the live presentation you can view it in its entirety by clicking on the link below. The webinar recording is available HERE The slides are available for download HERE…More