(Ebook) Practical Aviation & Aerospace Law by J. Scott Hamilton; Sarah Nilsson ISBN 9781619542730, 1619542730

(Ebook) Practical Aviation & Aerospace Law by J. Scott Hamilton; Sarah Nilsson ISBN 9781619542730, 1619542730

Practical Aviation and Aerospace Law is designed to be used in conjunctionwith the Practical Aviation and Aerospace Law Workbook as a university textfor aviation and aerospace law courses and, standing alone, as a referenceguide for aviation and aerospace business managers, pilots, mechanics,aircraft owners, and others involved in aviation by vocation or avocation.Originally titled simply Practical Aviation Law, beginning with the firstedition in 1991 and continuing through the fifth edition in 2011, the book hascontinuously grown in response to industry developments and instructorfeedback. In much of the world, aviation is generally considered to beincluded in the term “aerospace industry,” but in the United States, adistinction has persisted, with the term “aviation industry” generallyencompassing operations, repair and maintenance, while “aerospaceindustry” is used to refer to aircraft, spacecraft, and component design andmanufacturing, and now also spaceflight operations. With the recentexpansion of the number of companies engaged in commercial spacecraftdesign and manufacturing, and most of these companies engaging in orpreparing to engage in operation of those spacecraft (beyond the flight testphase) for commercial purposes, it appeared timely to add a new chaptercovering the law of commercial spaceflight operations in this edition. Theaddition of “and Aerospace” to the title signifies the book’s expanded scopefor this and subsequent editions. The author of this new chapter (the firstcontributed by another author since the book’s inception) is Dr. SarahNilsson, Assistant Professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’sPrescott, Arizona, campus, whose research interests encompass this topic.Except for certain treaties having worldwide or at least multinational effect,the scope of previous editions of the book has been limited to the law of theUnited States and may have had little relevance to the domestic laws of othernations. In keeping with the truly global nature of the aviation and aerospaceindustries and in recognition of the worldwide employment opportunities thatoffers, this edition begins what is likely to be a long-term effort to continuallyexpand the global perspective. The book does not attempt to explore theentire seamless web of the law—only those areas particularly applicable toaviation and aerospace. I recommend that students considering a career inaviation and aerospace, whether in operations, maintenance, engineering,manufacturing or business management, also take courses in business lawand aviation labor relations. While there is some overlap between the contentof those courses and this text, those give much broader and deeper coverageof some of the legal concepts and principles studied here.As the title suggests, this book takes a practical viewpoint. It aims toprovide the reader with basic legal knowledge and perspectives along with anunderstanding of how the legal system works in relation to aviation andaerospace activities. It aims to provide that in a form that can be applied tohelp you recognize and avoid common legal pitfalls, and to recognize whenthe moment has come to stop what you are doing and consult your lawyer. Ifthis book had a subtitle, it would be How to Avoid Aviation Lawyers andWhen to Call One.No book can hope to advise you what to do in every conceivable situation.In advising our clients, lawyers must take into consideration not only the lawbut also the facts and circumstances. In over thirty-five years of practicinglaw—in private practice, as government and later corporate counsel—Irepresented clients in well over three thousand aviation matters involvingevery subject in this book, and never saw two identical cases. While similarfacts give rise to similar considerations, slight differences in the facts andcircumstances often lead to major differences in the best approach to solvingthe problem. Examples in this book and its accompanying workbook aredrawn largely from cases I encountered in my practice.The law itself is also in a constant state of change. Even as I write, theCongress of the United States, fifty state legislatures, and a vast number ofadministrative agencies are daily making changes to statutes and regulations,while hundreds of federal and state courts are writing and publishing casedecisions on the interpretation, application, and constitutionality of thoselaws and regulations, along with decisions that modify, clarify, or sometimesconfuse the common law. Simultaneously, U.S. diplomats are negotiatingwith their foreign counterparts new or amended treaties to be ratified by theirgovernments. Such changes as have occurred since the fifth edition of thisbook was published are one reason for this expanded and updated sixthedition.While this process of continual change keeps the lawyer’s work frombecoming routine to the point of boredom, it also means that what was goodadvice yesterday (or the day this book went to press) may no longer be goodadvice today. While the fundamental legal principles discussed in this bookare less susceptible to sudden obsolescence than, say, a text on the InternalRevenue Code and IRS Regulations, you are cautioned not to attempt tosolve actual individual legal problems on the basis of information containedin this book. Finding yourself faced with an actual legal problem, you shouldrecognize that the time has come to consult your lawyer.