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Defending the Rights and Freedoms of General Aviation in the United States
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NEWS FLASH: In addition to the lawsuit already filed against one of Hanscom Field's two major flight schools, one of the plaintiffs in this case has now threatened a lawsuit against the second school at the airport if the school refuses to discontinue flight training over and near their community. See an image of the letter. Hanscom Field is the busiest general aviation airport in New England. These two schools operate a total of 58 airplanes, all of which are now either being sued or under being threat of being sued for simply flying over an area. If successful, the resulting precedent would be disastrous for GA. GALDF needs YOUR help to prevent this intimidating and damaging tactic from being replicated across the country. The General Aviation Legal Defense Fund (GALDF) is a nonprofit trust established to help pilots defend against precedent-setting lawsuits which significantly threaten the personal rights, privileges, and freedoms of general aviation pilots in the United States. By taking a vigorous stance in the courts, we hope to discourage future expensive, time consuming, and polarizing lawsuits, in favor of peaceful and amicable resolutions that do not clog up the court system. The fund's initial goal is to raise over $100,000 to help several individual pilots defray the legal costs of defending against a $1 million lawsuit with implications for general aviation pilots nationwide. The lawsuit against these pilots alleges that the plaintiffs have lost the use of their property because of noise generated by aircraft in otherwise legal flight over and near the plaintiffs' communities. According to AOPA President Phil Boyer in his April, 2004, President's Position column devoted solely to this issue, "every pilot in the United States could be adversely affected by this case... This is a case we must win to prevent a dangerous precedent". If the plaintiffs are allowed to win the suit in court, force an out of court settlement by running legal costs to prohibitive levels, or intimidate pilots from flying over extended geographic areas, then the same tactics will be used in other areas of the country, resulting in an unmanageable and unchartable patchwork of de-facto privatized airspace regulation with no possible way for pilots to know where they can fly, and where they might face legal action. The several pilot defendants had never been approached by any of the plaintiffs to resolve their concerns amicably, outside of a legal environment. Each has taken substantial steps to minimize noise over sensitive areas. Through no choice of their own, these pilots have been forced to represent and defend all other GA pilots in the United States, at enormous personal cost. The outcome of this suit will impact the ability of all pilots to fly freely in this country. It is not limited to a few states or a few types of flying. Every GA pilot in the country will have their future affected by this case. The fund is urgently seeking donations to fight this immediate threat. Defense costs have already reached tens of thousands of dollars and are ultimately expected to reach substantially over $100,000. By assisting the defendants with the money required to fight and win this precedent-setting case, the GALDF will help to affirm and maintain the federally regulated airspace system mandated by the U.S. Congress and currently being attacked by a group of "not in my back yard" individuals. All donated funds will go directly towards defraying the costs of defending this lawsuit. Any funds left over at the suit's conclusion will be used to help discourage and defend future precedent-setting lawsuits against pilots.
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General
Aviation Legal Defense Fund
