Aircraft Accidents

California Aviation & Helicopter Accident Attorneys

Injured in an aircraft accident? Here is what to know.

• Yaghmai Law Firm represents survivors and families of aircraft accidents in Los Angeles, Sherman Oaks, and the San Fernando Valley.
• We handle commercial airline crashes (FAA Part 121 carriers), commuter and on-demand operations (Part 135), general aviation under Part 91, helicopter accidents, and products-liability claims against aircraft and component manufacturers.
• Most aviation cases are litigated in federal court under federal-question or diversity jurisdiction. State-law claims (negligence, wrongful death, products liability) typically survive federal preemption and supply the substantive theories of recovery.
• California gives you 2 years from the date of injury or death to file an aviation injury or wrongful death claim under CCP Section 335.1. Over-water crashes 3+ nautical miles offshore are governed by the federal Death on the High Seas Act (46 U.S.C. Section 30302) with different damages rules.
• No fees unless we recover compensation. Free case review.
• Call or text (888) 800-6731 or submit your case online.

An aircraft accident lawyer must coordinate NTSB investigators, FAA enforcement records, and 14 CFR Part 91 or 121 compliance review to build a federal aviation case. Aircraft accidents are catastrophic events that demand immediate, federally-aware legal action. Whether a commercial airline crash, a helicopter accident over the Los Angeles basin, a corporate or charter flight under 14 CFR Part 135, or a general aviation accident under 14 CFR Part 91, the case is shaped by an overlapping framework of FAA operating regulations, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigations under 49 CFR Part 830, and California tort and products-liability law.

Yaghmai Law Firm represents passengers, pilots, ground victims, and surviving family members across the Los Angeles region. We pursue wrongful death, catastrophic injury, products liability against aircraft and component manufacturers, and maintenance-negligence cases against fixed-base operators (FBOs) and certificated mechanics. Our work begins by preserving the wreckage and the NTSB factual record, identifying every potential defendant — operator, manufacturer, maintenance provider, charter broker, fueler — and quantifying long-term losses for survivors and dependents.

No Win, No Fee Aviation Representation

Aviation cases are document-heavy, expert-intensive, and frequently multi-defendant. We accept aircraft accident cases on a contingency-fee basis, advance the investigation costs (NTSB record requests, aircraft and engine expert workups, human-factors analysis, accident reconstruction), and recover our fee only if we secure compensation through settlement or verdict. There are no out-of-pocket costs to start a case — the initial case review is free, and we do not get paid unless we win for you.

Types of Aircraft Accident Cases We Handle

Aviation is regulated as a federal industry, and the type of operation determines the duties owed and the experts required. We represent victims and families across the full range of California aviation accidents:

• Commercial airline crashes — Part 121 carriers operating scheduled passenger or cargo service under 14 CFR Part 121.
• Commuter and on-demand operations — Part 135 air carriers (charter flights, air taxi, on-demand jets, air ambulance) under 14 CFR Part 135.
• General aviation — private and recreational fixed-wing flights under 14 CFR Part 91.
• Helicopter accidents — news, sightseeing, electronic news gathering (ENG), corporate, law-enforcement, and helicopter air-ambulance operations.
• Corporate and business aviation — turbine and turboprop aircraft operated for business under Part 91 Subpart F or Part 135.
• Products liability — defective aircraft, engines, propellers, rotor systems, avionics, fuel systems, and parts manufactured under FAA type and production certificates.
• Maintenance negligence — claims against FBOs and FAA-certificated airframe and powerplant (A&P) mechanics for improper repair, inspection, or return-to-service decisions.
• Ground victims — people struck on the ground by a downed aircraft, debris, or wake turbulence near an airport.

Common Causes of Aircraft Accidents

NTSB and FAA accident data consistently identify a recurring set of causes. Pilot certification under 14 CFR Part 61 and the operating rules of Parts 91, 121, and 135 define the standards of care. Liability theories typically include one or more of the following:

• Pilot error and loss of situational awareness — including continued visual flight rules (VFR) flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), a leading killer in general aviation.
• Controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) — especially in mountainous coastal terrain around Southern California.
• Mechanical failure — engine, structural, hydraulic, flight-control, or avionics failures, often tied to design defect or maintenance negligence.
• Fuel exhaustion, fuel starvation, or fuel contamination — planning failures or fueler negligence.
• Weather — thunderstorms, icing, low ceilings, gusty winds, and microburst encounters.
• Midair collisions and near-airport conflicts — including non-towered field traffic conflicts.
• Helicopter-specific causes — autorotation failure, settling-with-power (vortex ring state), dynamic rollover during ground operations, and mast-bumping on teetering rotor systems.
• Air-traffic-control (ATC) error — sometimes implicating Federal Tort Claims Act claims against the United States.

Common Aviation Injuries

Aircraft accidents produce some of the most severe injuries in personal-injury law. Survivors and surviving families frequently face permanent, life-altering harm:

• Catastrophic blunt-force trauma and polytrauma — multiple-system injuries from impact forces and rapid deceleration.
• Burn injuries — from post-impact fires, fuel ignition, and electrical fires, often catastrophic and disfiguring.
• Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) — from impact forces, secondary impacts inside the cabin, and oxygen deprivation.
• Spinal cord injuries and paralysis — from vertical-impact forces typical of helicopter and fixed-wing crashes.
• Orthopedic and crush injuries — long-bone fractures, pelvic injuries, and amputations.
• Fatal injuries and wrongful death — aviation accidents carry exceptionally high fatality rates, especially in helicopter and general-aviation crashes.

What Aircraft Accident Cases Are Worth

Aircraft accident cases compensate the full scope of catastrophic loss. Categories of damages that typically apply in a California aviation case include:

• Past and future medical expenses — emergency care, surgery, hospitalization, rehabilitation, prosthetics, lifetime care plans for severely injured survivors.
• Past and future lost earnings and loss of earning capacity — especially significant for high-income passengers and pilots.
• Non-economic damages — pain, suffering, disfigurement, and emotional distress for the injured victim; loss of love, companionship, society, and moral support for surviving family members in wrongful death claims under CCP Section 377.60.
• Punitive damages — available in California against manufacturers and operators whose conduct shows malice, oppression, or fraud, including conscious disregard of known safety defects.
• DOHSA limitations — if the accident occurred more than 3 nautical miles offshore, the federal Death on the High Seas Act limits recovery to pecuniary loss sustained by surviving beneficiaries; non-pecuniary damages (grief, loss of society) are generally barred under DOHSA itself, although some courts allow loss-of-society damages in aviation DOHSA cases under 46 U.S.C. Section 30307.

California Law and the Federal Aviation Framework

Aviation accident cases sit at the intersection of federal aviation regulation and state tort law. The federal framework defines the standards of care; California tort and products-liability law typically supplies the cause of action.

Federal framework. The Federal Aviation Act is recodified at 49 U.S.C. Subtitle VII. FAA operating rules appear in Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations — Part 91 (general operating and flight rules), Part 121 (domestic, flag, and supplemental commercial operations), Part 135 (commuter and on-demand), and Part 61 (pilot certification). NTSB authority to investigate aircraft accidents is set out in 49 U.S.C. Section 1131; 49 CFR Section 830.5 requires the operator of any civil aircraft to immediately notify the nearest NTSB office of an accident or serious incident. The NTSB’s probable-cause determination is, by statute, not admissible to prove liability, but the underlying factual reports and witness statements are routinely used in civil litigation.

Federal preemption. FAA regulations supply the federal standard of care for aviation safety. State-law tort claims — negligence, wrongful death, products liability — generally are not preempted in private personal-injury actions. Congress did not displace the field of state tort remedies for aviation accidents, and California courts routinely entertain such claims when filed in state court or transferred from federal diversity jurisdiction.

California state law. The 2-year statute of limitations for personal injury and wrongful death in CCP Section 335.1 applies to aviation claims (federal claim types may carry different limitations periods — do not rely on the 2-year rule without confirmation). Wrongful death standing classes are set out in CCP Section 377.60; survival actions are governed by CCP Section 377.30 and CCP Section 377.34 — under the current rule (in effect since January 1, 2026), a survival action filed by the decedent’s personal representative or successor in interest cannot recover damages for the decedent’s pre-death pain, suffering, or disfigurement. California also recognizes strict products liability against aircraft, engine, and component manufacturers, and the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur is frequently applied in aviation cases where the aircraft was in the defendant’s exclusive control and the accident is one that does not ordinarily occur absent negligence.

Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA). When a fatal aircraft accident occurs on the high seas beyond 3 nautical miles from the shore of the United States, the exclusive federal remedy is the Death on the High Seas Act, 46 U.S.C. Section 30302. DOHSA actions are brought in admiralty by the decedent’s personal representative on behalf of the spouse, parent, child, or dependent relative. Recovery is limited to pecuniary loss sustained by the beneficiaries, and the statute’s special damages and venue rules can sharply change case strategy — especially for Catalina-bound, Channel Islands, and trans-Pacific flights.

Why Yaghmai Law Firm for Your Aviation Case

Aviation litigation is unforgiving. Evidence disappears within days, federal investigations move on their own timeline, and defendants — airlines, manufacturers, maintenance providers, insurers — bring some of the most experienced aviation defense firms in the country. Our firm builds aviation cases from the ground up: preserving the NTSB factual record, retaining the right aircraft, engine, human-factors, and accident-reconstruction experts, and pursuing every solvent defendant whose conduct contributed to the crash.

“Aircraft accident cases are won or lost on the evidence collected in the first weeks. We move fast on NTSB record requests, wreckage preservation, and expert workups so families and survivors are not left with a case that has already been shaped by the defense.”

— Houtan Yaghmai, Esq., President & Managing Attorney

We represent clients on a contingency-fee basis statewide and accept aviation referrals from California counsel. There is no obligation and no cost to ask us about your case.

Frequently Asked Questions About Aircraft Accident Cases

Where do aircraft accident cases get filed — federal or state court?

It depends on the parties, the operation, and the location of the crash. Cases against U.S. air carriers and aircraft manufacturers are commonly filed in federal court under diversity jurisdiction (28 U.S.C. Section 1332) or admiralty jurisdiction (28 U.S.C. Section 1333) for over-water crashes. State-court filings are appropriate in many California cases involving in-state defendants and California-resident plaintiffs. We assess venue strategically at intake.

Who can be sued after an aircraft accident?

Potential defendants include the operator or air carrier, the pilot (or the pilot’s estate), the aircraft and engine manufacturers, the manufacturers of defective components or avionics, the FBO or certificated mechanic who last performed maintenance, the fueler, the charter broker, the airport operator, and (in air-traffic-control cases) the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act. Identifying every solvent defendant is one of our first jobs.

What is the role of the NTSB and the FAA?

The National Transportation Safety Board investigates U.S. civil aircraft accidents under 49 U.S.C. Section 1131 and issues a factual record and a probable-cause determination. The FAA enforces the federal aviation regulations and may pursue separate certificate action against the pilot or operator. The NTSB’s probable-cause determination is, by statute, not admissible to prove negligence in court, but the underlying factual reports, photos, and witness statements are routinely used in civil cases.

How long do I have to file an aircraft accident case in California?

For most personal-injury and wrongful-death claims under California law, CCP Section 335.1 gives you 2 years from the date of injury or death. Federal claims (FTCA, DOHSA, certain products-liability theories) may carry different limitations periods. Do not delay — speak with an aviation lawyer immediately so the right deadline is calendared.

Does the Death on the High Seas Act apply to my case?

DOHSA applies when the death was caused by wrongful act, neglect, or default on the high seas beyond 3 nautical miles from the shore of the United States. For aviation, that includes crashes en route to Catalina, the Channel Islands, Hawaii, and most international over-water flights. DOHSA limits recovery to pecuniary loss and changes the venue and procedural rules dramatically — the location of the crash relative to the 3-nautical-mile line is a case-defining fact. See 46 U.S.C. Section 30302.

Can I sue the aircraft or engine manufacturer?

Yes, in many cases. California recognizes strict products liability against the manufacturers of aircraft, engines, rotor systems, propellers, fuel systems, and avionics. Federal type-certificate compliance does not, by itself, immunize a manufacturer from a state-law products-liability claim. The General Aviation Revitalization Act (GARA) does impose an 18-year statute of repose on certain general-aviation aircraft and parts; we evaluate GARA carefully in older-aircraft cases.

What if the pilot was killed in the crash?

A pilot’s death does not extinguish liability claims against the pilot — the case proceeds against the pilot’s estate and the pilot’s liability insurance. The pilot’s surviving family may also have their own wrongful-death claim against other responsible parties (manufacturer, maintenance provider, ATC). Both directions of the case are common in aviation litigation.

How much does it cost to hire an aviation accident lawyer?

We accept aircraft accident cases on a contingency-fee basis. There is no fee unless we recover compensation, and we advance the costs of investigation and experts. The initial case review is free. Call or text (888) 800-6731 or submit your case online.

Related Practice Areas

Aircraft accidents often involve multiple kinds of catastrophic injury. The following pages may also be relevant to your case:

• Personal Injury Practice
• Wrongful Death Attorney
• Brain Injury Lawyer (TBI)
• Burn Injury Lawyer
• Free Personal Injury Case Review

Reviewed by Houtan Yaghmai, Esq., President & Managing Attorney. Admitted to practice law in California (State Bar No. 298487). He represents personal injury and immigration clients statewide.

Last updated: May 30, 2026.