jhelms(at)nationair.com
Guest
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 Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 6:59 am Post subject: Parting out your homebuilt (was AOPA hates homebuilts?) |
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In my professional opinion, parting it out doesn't get you what you're
after. It merely spreads the risk around. If you sell the wings to one
individual, he/she puts them on their plane and they fail, you might be sued
over that. They may not win, but they can always sue. Same for the engine,
fuselage, etc, etc.
Hold harmless agreements might be useful. I'll allow attorney's to discuss
that.
In my humble opinion, the very best thing that a seller can do to alleviate
the amount of liability any type of airplane owner has when selling a plane
is to is have a third party do an annual on the plane as the pre-buy
inspection. That way, a third party has signed his name to attest that the
plane is airworthy.
Lawsuits after an airplane has been sold happen. There just has not yet
been one for what you all are discussing (poor building). If a person buys
a plane (production or experimental) and the engine quits shortly after the
purchase, whether someone is hurt in the subsequent landing/crash there will
very likely be a lawsuit against the former owner for poorly maintaining the
plane.
As the builder of an experimental aircraft, one is always likely to have
some risk of being sued, but the longer that the plane has been successfully
flown (by both you when you owned it, and after it was sold) the harder that
is going to be to win for someone claiming it was "built poorly" because "if
it was built so poorly then why did it successfully fly XXXX hours?"
John "JT" Helms
Branch Manager, NationAir Insurance Agency, Light Aircraft Office.
In response to:
I was once a AOPA guy 20 years ago but quit for several reasons.
However I did recently hear that the "AOPA adviser" was claiming
homebuilts are such a liability that if you sell one you should part
it out. I just want to say there has NEVER been a lawsuit against
any builder. Absolutly NO legal precedence.
Sure we are liable for everything. Your dog bites someone you can
go to jail. However if you get a lawyer to draw up a liability release,
sometimes called a "hold harmless waiver", chance of lawsuit is
slim. If you knowingly did not put the spar bolts in, or some other
nonsense, yes you might have negligence problem. A safe RV,
built to plans, not likely to be a problem.
Again NEVER happened, no lawsuits and AOPA is WRONG
if this is their claim.
I would love someone else to write or ask the AOPA adviser the
same question.
Any way I don't think AOPA supports Kit planes or homebuilts
because it is counter to there main customers aircraft manufactures
and corporate operators. Just read their magazine. It is like a
corporate aviation magazine. Not saying they don't do good for all of
us, I am just saying that they are somewhat impotent or ineffective,
but it is better than nothing I guess. After 10 years I dropped them
about 10 years ago. They sent me crap for years trying to get me back.
George
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