Passenger liability

what_next wrote:

But how can a pasenger know what kind of aircraft she/he is flying with?

For experimentals (typically homebuilt aircraft with a C of A in the experimental category) the aircraft must have placards saying (loosely translated) “it is not verified that this aircraft fulfills the requirements for aircraft in the normal category”. It must be visible from every seat. It also must have written in big letters “EXPERIMENTAL” or “EKSPERIMENT”. For microlight the following placard must be visible (also loosely translated ) “This aircraft is only approved for aerial sports, and is approved by simpler standards than ordinary aircraft”. It’s also the PIC’s duty to inform passengers about this.

As I said, insurance for third party and the aircraft itself is no problem. It’s the kind of “activity” you are doing that counts. If your life insurance covers experimental aviation (essentially a test pilot) and aerial sports, then you have a very special insurance, a kind of insurance no normal passenger is likely to have. From the insurance company’s point of view, there are no passengers in those categories. The LAA aren’t doing experimental aviation in any case, not by any stretch of the word. I’m not entirely sure what the insurance companies have to say about being a passenger in an experimental that has a valid C of A (finished the test flying). But flying microlights, as PIC or passenger, is typically explicitly excluded, as is all aerial sports (please read the finer print )

Peter wrote:

this is mandatory in the EU anyway.

Not necessarily. It depends on what the aircraft is legally defined to be, and what kind of activity you are doing. Sure, you can take passengers. You can put someone on the back of your bicycle and ride it off a cliff, were both of you pull the chute (it’s been done). Is that person a passenger? Hardly.

what_next wrote:

Around here (Germany) a private pilot has nothing to fear, liability wise, as long as he does not violate any rules or acts recklessly. Vaivers signed by passengers are totally worthless

Yes, usually the case in Norway too, but no one is immune to civil law suits. Civil law has a lower threshold for proving guilt and paying damage than criminal law. My point was that this goes both ways. A “Liability Release Agreement” could easily harm the PIC as well as the passenger. If the passenger dies, then someone else will sue you in any case, and that agreement is worth nothing. It will only rise suspicion IMO, because there is no good reason to have it in the first place.

“Liability Release Agreement”.
Many years ago the RAF used to give these to passengers travelling in Servicve vehicles for non Service purposes. It was then pointed out to them that under UK Law they were worthless, as a passenger could not sign away their legal rights.

Peter wrote:

I don’t think the EU has harmonised this aspect, however.

With the massive difference in healthcare systems among the EU, harmonisation is far away! As already stated above, in my part of the EU the health insurance is the driving force behind those liability claims. We have a very good one and they will make sure that everyone will get the treatment that he requires – basically free of cost for him and with no money paid up front at the entrance of the hospital (like in that big wonderland right across the Atlantic Ocean) – but they have to watch their expenses just like everybody else. And if they can find someone to whom they can forward the doctor’s bill they will happily do that. But as they are the ones who usually pay the bills, they also want to be the ones to sign liability waivers. Which means that waivers signed by their clients (us) are worth nothing. I can not sign anything in the name of my insurer.

There is no legal difference between taking a passenger in your car and doing it in your personal aircraft.

The liability aspects of ride sharing are widely discussed on the internet for each jurisdiction. The bottom line is that in most countries you can’t exclude liability but you can procure insurance. Or just accept that life is risky and usually ends with death.