## Facts

- Kenneth W. Aldridge, individually and through his business KWA Leasing, Inc. (and related leasing entities), owned a privately operated, restored World War II-era Vultee BT-13A aircraft (the Vultee).
- The Vultee had been restored by Waukegan Aero, Ltd., which performed a final restoration inspection and certified the aircraft as airworthy in May 1992.
- After an annual inspection, Waukegan Aero again certified the Vultee as airworthy in June 1993.
- In June 1994, Aldridge noticed a possible fuel leak and contacted Howard Siedlecki, an FAA-licensed mechanic working for Sunshine Aircraft Repair, to diagnose and fix the problem.
- Siedlecki traced the issue to the carburetor and, with Aldridge’s approval, sent the carburetor to an outside company for overhaul.
- After the overhaul, Siedlecki reinstalled the carburetor, performed the Vultee’s annual inspection, and certified the aircraft as airworthy.
- A few days later, on July 28, 1994, Michael Garofalo piloted the Vultee near Racine, Wisconsin, with a passenger. The aircraft crashed and both occupants died.
- The plaintiff, Jeffrey Jarmuth, as administrator of Garofalo’s estate, sued Aldridge and the leasing-company owners, alleging negligence.
- Jarmuth’s theory was that the owners had a duty to personally inspect the Vultee to determine its airworthiness and that their failure to do so caused the crash.
- The owner-defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing they met any duty of reasonable care by hiring and relying on an FAA-certified mechanic who inspected and certified the aircraft as airworthy.
- The circuit court granted summary judgment for the owner-defendants, and Jarmuth appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether the owner of a privately operated aircraft has a duty to personally inspect the aircraft for airworthiness when the owner hires an FAA-licensed mechanic to inspect, repair, and certify the aircraft as airworthy.
2. Whether 14 C.F.R. § 91.403(a) (stating the owner or operator is “primarily responsible” for maintaining airworthiness) creates or expands a tort duty owed by the owner to third parties in this setting.
3. Whether summary judgment for the owner-defendants was proper where the material facts about the mechanic’s work and certification were not disputed.

## Decision

- The appellate court affirmed the circuit court’s grant of summary judgment for Aldridge and the related owner-defendants.
- The court held that a noncommercial private aircraft owner who hires a qualified FAA-certified mechanic and reasonably relies on the mechanic’s inspection and airworthiness certification does not have an additional legal duty to personally perform a technical inspection for airworthiness.
- The court rejected the plaintiff’s argument that 14 C.F.R. § 91.403(a), by itself, imposed a civil tort duty requiring the owners to personally verify airworthiness beyond retaining licensed maintenance personnel.
- Because the asserted owner-inspection duty did not exist on these facts, the negligence claim failed as a matter of law, making summary judgment appropriate.

## Legal Principles

- In Illinois negligence actions, whether a duty exists is a question of law; the analysis considers foreseeability, likelihood of injury, the burden of precautions, and the consequences of placing that burden on the defendant.
- A private aircraft owner may satisfy reasonable care regarding maintenance and inspection by retaining a competent, FAA-licensed mechanic to perform required work and to sign off on airworthiness after inspection.
- FAA regulations assign key technical maintenance and airworthiness sign-off functions to certificated mechanics and repair facilities; the owner’s role is to ensure maintenance and inspections occur, not to personally perform specialized mechanical checks the owner is not trained to perform.
- The statement in 14 C.F.R. § 91.403(a) that the owner or operator is “primarily responsible” for maintaining airworthiness is a regulatory responsibility and does not automatically create an added tort duty to third parties where the owner has obtained professional inspection and certification.
- Summary judgment is proper when the record shows no genuine dispute of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law; appellate review of summary judgment is de novo.

## Conclusion

The Illinois Appellate Court affirmed summary judgment for the aircraft owners because Illinois negligence law did not impose a separate duty on private, noncommercial aircraft owners to personally inspect for airworthiness where they hired an FAA-certified mechanic to repair, inspect, and certify the aircraft, and the FAA regulation describing owner responsibility did not, by itself, create a broader tort duty in these circumstances.


Jarmuth v. Aldridge, 747 N.E.2d 1014 (2001)