Kobe Crash

I've never brought this up before but Hunter knows what I'm talking about.

The canyons around where Kobe was killed have a micro climate of their own that can be different every time you round a corner or cross a hill. Camarillo can be 300' and a 1/2 mile. Six miles away, on the other side of a low ridge, Santa Paula is clear and 20. That's pretty much normal in that area. You don't get that in the Plains States.

I was driving on the 101 to Santa Barbara one morning. Been driving for over an hour without issue. Low OVC with a little fog but the freeway was doing 70+ MPH. I came over a hill east of Camarillo and the car windows all fogged up in 3 to 5 seconds. I couldn't get the defrosters on quick enough. As a pilot I could really appreciate what had happened.
Our dual and solo cross country requirements are to CMA. One of my biggest frustrations is teaching students that just because the airport or its surrounding areas might be VFR, doesn't necessarily mean you should go without looking into what is going on around the airport. We often cancel students because CMA is calm and clear but OXR is 1/2 vis. If it's an experienced pilot that has an instrument rating is one thing, but launching a student pilot on his solo cross country in that area could get me into deep hot water. Nevertheless, we get the students that moan and complain about how they won't go into the IMC and they'll be careful. I simply tell them, you're wasting you're breath. You're not going.
 
Our dual and solo cross country requirements are to CMA. One of my biggest frustrations is teaching students that just because the airport or its surrounding areas might be VFR, doesn't necessarily mean you should go without looking into what is going on around the airport. We often cancel students because CMA is calm and clear but OXR is 1/2 vis. If it's an experienced pilot that has an instrument rating is one thing, but launching a student pilot on his solo cross country in that area could get me into deep hot water. Nevertheless, we get the students that moan and complain about how they won't go into the IMC and they'll be careful. I simply tell them, you're wasting you're breath. You're not going.

what’s the latest there regarding the legal side of this whole Kobe case?
 
Our dual and solo cross country requirements are to CMA. One of my biggest frustrations is teaching students that just because the airport or its surrounding areas might be VFR, doesn't necessarily mean you should go without looking into what is going on around the airport. We often cancel students because CMA is calm and clear but OXR is 1/2 vis. If it's an experienced pilot that has an instrument rating is one thing, but launching a student pilot on his solo cross country in that area could get me into deep hot water. Nevertheless, we get the students that moan and complain about how they won't go into the IMC and they'll be careful. I simply tell them, you're wasting you're breath. You're not going.
This is why the old man insisted I get my instrument rating, even before I wanted to do this professionally. Between the microclimates and the rapid changes in CIG/VIS in CMA, you really do need to have one.
 
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what’s the latest there regarding the legal side of this whole Kobe case?
The wifey is suing everyone around. Including the pilots estate which I'm not ok with. I get it, it was his fault. But he didn't do it on purpose and going after his little life savings will leave his family broke. They already lost a family member, this just throws salt on the wound.

Meanwhile....
Plane that made emergency landing on 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills experienced loss of oil pressure, flight school says
 
The wifey is suing everyone around. Including the pilots estate which I'm not ok with. I get it, it was his fault. But he didn't do it on purpose and going after his little life savings will leave his family broke. They already lost a family member, this just throws salt on the wound.

Meanwhile....
Plane that made emergency landing on 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills experienced loss of oil pressure, flight school says

I just asked in the other thread....was this one of yours?

As far as the suit....it was explained to me a long time ago that in an aviation accident EVERYONE gets sued, and then the insurance companies start talking to each other about settling up. Part of the reason to a) carry CFI insurance and b) we need tort reform in this country.
 
I just asked in the other thread....was this one of yours?

As far as the suit....it was explained to me a long time ago that in an aviation accident EVERYONE gets sued, and then the insurance companies start talking to each other about settling up. Part of the reason to a) carry CFI insurance and b) we need tort reform in this country.

Back before the GOP when crazy balls they were onto something with tort reform - not sure why it went away.

Anyone who leases a plane back to a flight school should really, really rethink it. Friend of a friend got the pants sued off him when a CFI and student flew his perfectly working airplane into a mountain. Fortunately his liability was within the limits of his insurance, but that was with him having zero responsibility for the accident.

At least make sure it's in an LLC.
 
Back before the GOP when crazy balls they were onto something with tort reform - not sure why it went away.

Anyone who leases a plane back to a flight school should really, really rethink it. Friend of a friend got the pants sued off him when a CFI and student flew his perfectly working airplane into a mountain. Fortunately his liability was within the limits of his insurance, but that was with him having zero responsibility for the accident.

At least make sure it's in an LLC.

Not sure that an LLC actually protects you from that, but I don't know for sure. Seems like something @MidlifeFlyer would know.
 
I just asked in the other thread....was this one of yours?

As far as the suit....it was explained to me a long time ago that in an aviation accident EVERYONE gets sued, and then the insurance companies start talking to each other about settling up. Part of the reason to a) carry CFI insurance and b) we need tort reform in this country.

That's any kind of civil litigation - sue everyone in sight, especially those with the deepest pockets, and let the courts sort it out.

Unless the pilot had a high net worth that we don't know about, which I doubt, his estate will more than likely be dropped from the suit as there's nothing to be gained from it.

Back before the GOP when crazy balls they were onto something with tort reform - not sure why it went away.

Anyone who leases a plane back to a flight school should really, really rethink it. Friend of a friend got the pants sued off him when a CFI and student flew his perfectly working airplane into a mountain. Fortunately his liability was within the limits of his insurance, but that was with him having zero responsibility for the accident.

At least make sure it's in an LLC.

An umbrella policy isn't a bad idea either if you have something worth protecting. They're dirt cheap.
 
Not sure that an LLC actually protects you from that, but I don't know for sure. Seems like something @MidlifeFlyer would know.
In the typical leaseback situation, generally speaking, having and following the formalities of an LLC will provide more personal liability insulation than not having one, especially if the sole basis for liability is simply being the owner. Nothing prevents being sued by a shotgun plaintiff lawyer. In some cases, the purpose of insurance is simply providing for the cost of defense.

"Are other people going to fly your airplane?" is one of my checklist items for "do I need an LLC?"
 
LLCs can kind of help as long as you’re not the one flying the airplane, but you can expect to get named if you have more than two dimes to rub together.

I’ve never seen an umbrella policy cover aviation activities. Every one I’ve seen specifically excludes them.

Tort reform is the one and only thing the lawyers who work for the Ds and the Rs agree on. As in, no reform. They like the system as it is.
 
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