Foundations of Aviation

Before taking aviation as a career, I knew that aviation had laws that protected the
passengers, cargo and employees. The government had set laws that governed the aviation
operations with no knowledge of the differential law system. I knew that passengers had
rights during the flight with the government having set codes to regulate and help manage all
the operations in the system. The available knowledge on the law was shallow with no
definite governing law. At that time, the greatest law was the protection of passengers and
cargo through ensuring safety flights; where in case their rights are violated, they have a right
to sue.
The different types of laws as explained in the book have brought a lot of impact in
my life. Criminal law is a statutory law enacted by a public body such as state or congress
legislature and imposes punishment in case of failure of conformity. Tort law is a private
cause of action and criminal statue violation leads to an unjust conduct. The two laws
overlaps and it explains how in our legal system, an assault is a crime as well as an
intentional tort. A tort is a wrong act exposing the wrong doer to civil liability and unlike a
criminal case where guilt is proven beyond reasonable doubts; tort liability requires a less
threshold.
Aviation being a global industry and it has impacted to me the importance of
acquiring basic knowledge of various legal systems and doctrines that impact the industry. It

explains the three levels of federal court system; district court, circuit court of appeals and the
US Supreme Court; the congress determines the federal court structure, number of judicial
systems and jurisdiction. I came to know that a state cannot pass an ordinance that is directly
conflicting with a federal regulation. A conviction of drug offense relates to flight safety as
the FAA states that professionals who violate such offenses can also break the air safety
regulations. The US has discussed series of aviation laws; The Airmail Act of 1925, The Air
Commerce Act of 1926 and The Federal Aviation Act and each law explains actions after
violation.
The book has well explained the formation of agencies and how they operate; they
have rulemaking, prosecutorial, adjudicative and investigative functions. This is an
illustration of FAA functions where it can investigate alleged violations of rules, make rules,
hold hearings, prosecute and penalize rule violators. The government and its branches
influence administrative agencies where control of these agencies is asserted by the congress.
The president is the one who control and influence agencies through removal and appointing
powers, executive orders, budgetary influence and directives.
The knowledge from these laws will be helpful in future in my day to day aviation
career. Negligence should be avoided as they are actions to be carried out in case it occurs as
illustrated in Tort Law where it is a duty to act in a certain way between parties. The cases
found on the book are good examples on what is supposed to be done in case of issues, with
practical illustrations as a guideline of common issues and the way they should be interrupted
and solved. Through understanding the proceeding of law suit in; state court, federal court
and administrative agencies, it will help in the procedure to take in case of a conflict. The
knowledge of various FAA actions on enforcing suspected violations of civil statues and
regulations including; administrative actions and legal enforcement actions will help in
knowing the steps that are followed in enforcement actions to a party.