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![]() 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. |
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