Ken Finney wrote:



Here in Montana the legislature this year ammended an existing law that
now says an owner of a private airport cannot be sued if a pilot crashes
on this private airport. As long as it is a non commercial aircraft
operation the airport owner is untouchable. Now the airport owner no
longer has to have you sign a release in advance to protect himself.


I tried Yahoo and Google and couldn't find the law you mention. Any change
you know the name or number of it?

Yes, it was Senate Bill 318. Here's a blurb from the Montana Pilots
Assoc website. The Governor signed the bill inot law on April 30th.




The MPA Recreational Airstrip Committee and the Recreational Aviation
Foundation are working to amend Montana's recreational use statute to
include private airstrips

A year ago the Recreational Aviation Foundation (RAF) received a grant
from the Alfred Wolfe Foundation to hire a UM law student to research
the various states' recreational use statutes to see if aviation was
included. Only Idaho included aviation in their recreational use
statute. The law student, under the guidance of his professor, studied
the efficacy of Montana's recreational use statute and then drafted an
amendment to the Montana law. The amendment defines “airstrip” as either
improved or unimproved landing areas used by pilots and excludes
municipal airports.

The purpose of recreational use statutes is to limit landowner liability
when they allow their lands to be used for public recreation without
compensation. Montana’s current recreational statute lists activities
such as fishing, hunting, hiking, biking, winter sports, camping and
many others, but aviation is not mentioned. Incorporating aviation into
the statute could result in more recreational use airstrips and
encourage landowners to maintain their airstrips, thus providing more
landing sites for emergency or precautionary landings.

Following the drafting of the proposed legislation, the RAF took the
document to the Montana Pilots’ Association (MPA). The MPA is now in the
process of moving this legislation through the legislative process in
the 2007 session in Helena. The bill (SB 318) has been introduced into
the Senate by Senator Jim Peterson of Buffalo, Mont. (Senate District 15).

When this bill comes up for committee hearings it is imperative that as
many pilots as possible attend to show the House Judiciary Committee how
important this legislation is to the aviation community. You do not need
to testify, however oral or written testimony is very important. Any
landowner with an airstrip should be involved in passing this
legislation; they have everything to gain and nothing to lose. There is
usually a week's notice given for hearings which allows schedule
planning. If your schedule prevents you from attending the hearing then
please write or call both your legislators, personal contact on this
bill is very important. If you do not know who your legislators are, you
can find your districts on your voter registration card and then go to:
www.leg.mt.gov.

If you are not able to attend the hearing, a letter should be sent to
your legislators or as a last choice, a phone message can be left for
your legislators by calling the legislative message center at
406-444-4800. A good example of a letter to a legislator is the one sent
by Chuck Jarecki to Representative Janna Taylor, use this as a guide but
use your own words.

The MPA is maintaining a list of MPA members and RAF supporters who
would like to be notified of the hearing schedule. Please send your
name, e-mail address and phone number to MPA/RAF director Chuck Jarecki
at: . If you have questions or need additional
information Jarecki is the one to contact.