Liability Options

[j_omega]

During a recent storm, a single aircraft in the transient tie down area that came loose from its tie downs and smashed into the hanger behind it. That hanger collapsed, sending debris towards my hanger which in turn ripped off my hanger door. My aircraft then suffered substantial damage from debris and wind. The rest of the hangers in the airport remained intact. This damage is clearly the indirect result of the aircraft coming loose in the tie downs.

[dougbush]

If you think your plane would not have been damaged if the tied-down plane had been tied down better or had not been there at all, then why not file a claim on their insurance?

[j_omega]

According to the registration, the owner is from out of state, and I have not yet seen him at the airport. Is there a way to get his insurance information beyond sending a certified letter to his house? I have also read that a lot of insurance companies cover events related to weather?

[dougbush]

Maybe the owner of the first hangar hit has already found out?

It sounds like the transient plane owner would be personally responsible for the damage whether insured or not. If insured, he may have already filed a claim for his hull damage and probably has enough liability coverage for your loss.

Or, if someone else was involved, that person or his employer might be responsible. If the knot came loose, the person who tied it might be at fault. If the rope broke, the supplier of the rope might be at fault.

It's interesting how these things get sorted out. It might vary from state to state. Maybe in your state the transient plane owner is at fault for parking there, or maybe he gets off because he tied down properly and the weather is just capricious.

[Airmutt]

I’m not a lawyer but there are enough questions in my mind that I would at least sit down and talk with a tort attorney at minimum. I suspect you’ll need an attorney in the long run. Here’s just some musings

Was outside tie down parking the only option
Was the aircraft in an authorized parking area
who approved or told the owner to park there
who tied down the aircraft
who supplied the tie down system
what method of tied down was used
was that method of tie down adequate for that type size aircraft and the parking surface
how did the aircraft get lose - negligence or mechanical failure of the tie down system
if failure, what failed
was the event foreseeable
did the owner have adequate knowledge and time to have taken additional precautions
do you live in a shared liability state
who owns the hangars
were they built and maintained to code
do the hangar owner(s) have liability insurance

[Bill Berson]

A small airplane blown into a hangar does not usually damage a hangar significantly enough to cause collapse. The wind (local whirlwind ?) must have been a significant factor in the hangar(s) collapse and might be considered an act of God.