Aviation Law is of particular interest to Power & Bennett partner Gary Nicholas who is a Private Pilot. His interest in Aviation Law came about through studying it in his Licence Theory.

Of particular concern to Gary is that so many aircraft change hands without any formal contract. Considering that such large amounts of money are paid for aircraft, often as much as for a house, it is surprising that this is so often done only by a hand shake. Considering that there is no way to register title to an aircraft in the same way as there is land (the aircraft register is not conclusive evidence of title), this carries considerable risk.

It should be appreciated that the vendor of an aircraft is unable to legally affect a transfer of title to the purchaser if he himself did not have ownership of it in the first place. This may come about because of a defect in the transaction when he acquired the aircraft. Also of concern is the fact that many maintenance engineers retain ownership of parts supplied by them until they are paid for. Expensive parts may therefore be recovered by them if it turns out the vendor has not paid his or her bill. Aircraft can also be subject to a charge in favour of Airservices Australia for unpaid airways charges.

One issue of great concern is that if the Vendor is a company then there is a strong likelihood that there is a charge over its assets to secure finance. This is a kind of mortgage. If there is such a charge then it is likely that it will cover the aircraft. Accordingly it is necessary to have this discharged before the purchaser pays over the purchase price.

Gary Nicholas can assist with preparation of all necessary contracts to guard against the above risks and also with the preparation of the necessary CASA transfer papers and Airservices enquiries relating to Airways charges. Contracts can be sent by email. Contact him now.