Aviation Accident Law, in Plain English
The federal investigation: backbone, not verdict
The NTSB investigates civil aviation crashes and produces two things: a factual record and a probable-cause finding. Federal law bars the probable-cause report itself from being admitted as evidence in a civil trial. The factual record underneath it — wreckage documentation, maintenance history, weather data, air traffic control recordings, radar tracks — is where the civil case is built. We work that record hard, and we run our own investigation in parallel, because the government’s experts answer the government’s questions.
Who can be held responsible
General aviation flights operate under Part 91 of the federal aviation regulations; charter flights under Part 135, with stricter duties for the operator. Depending on what the evidence shows, responsibility can reach the pilot or the pilot’s estate, the charter operator, the maintenance facility that signed off the last inspection, and the manufacturer of the aircraft or a failed component. One caution on manufacturers: the General Aviation Revitalization Act bars most claims against the maker of an aircraft more than 18 years old, which makes the operator and maintenance theories decisive in older-aircraft crashes.
Deadlines
Texas gives most injury and wrongful death claims two years. Do not wait for the NTSB to finish before calling a lawyer — final reports routinely take a year or longer, and the civil deadlines run anyway. Wreckage custody, insurance notice, and evidence preservation all reward moving early.
How We Prove an Aviation Case
We move early to secure what the government does not preserve for you: the wreckage chain of custody, the operator’s training and scheduling records, the maintenance logbooks and work orders, the avionics and engine-monitor data, and the communications that show what the operator knew before the flight. Experts come in early — crash reconstruction, metallurgy, human factors — and every claim gets traced to the defendant’s own records and witnesses. Our full preparation method is on the Transportation Accidents page; aviation cases get built for a courtroom from the first week, because the defense starts at the crash site.
Questions, Answered
Go Deeper
The hub — every mode, and the data that decides each one.
Transportation AccidentsWhere aviation meets maritime law — rig and platform crew transport.
Offshore Helicopter CrashesSoftware logs and sensor data, read natively.
Self-Driving & Autonomous Vehicle CrashesCommercial carriers under federal safety rules.
Bus & Motorcoach Accidents
