Queensland Consolidated Acts

AIR NAVIGATION ACT 1937 - SECT 16

16 Liability for injury, loss, damage or destruction

(1) This section applies if a person or property on, in or under land or water suffers personal injury, loss of life, material loss, damage or destruction caused by—

(a) an impact with an aircraft that is in flight, or that was in flight immediately before the impact happened; or

(b) an impact with part of an aircraft that was damaged or destroyed while in flight; or

(c) an impact with a person, animal or thing that fell from an aircraft in flight; or

(d) something that results from an impact of a kind mentioned in paragraph (a), (b) or (c).

(2) The following people are jointly and severally liable in respect of the injury, loss, damage or destruction—

(a) the operator of the aircraft immediately before the impact happened;

(b) the owner of the aircraft immediately before the impact happened;

(c) if the operator of the aircraft immediately before the impact happened was authorised to use the aircraft but did not have the exclusive right to use it for a period of more than 14 consecutive days—the person who authorised the use of the aircraft;

(d) if the operator of the aircraft immediately before the impact happened was using the aircraft without the authority of the person entitled to control its navigation—the person entitled to control the navigation of the aircraft.

(3) Subsection (2) (d) does not apply if the person entitled to control the navigation of the aircraft had taken all reasonable steps to prevent the unauthorised use of the aircraft.

(4) If—

(a) an injury, loss, damage or destruction of the kind mentioned in subsection (1) is the result of a collision or interference between 2 or more aircraft in flight; or

(b) 2 or more aircraft jointly cause an injury, loss, damage or destruction of that kind;

this section applies in relation to each of the aircraft.