Volume 10 — North Carolina Court of Appeals Reports

1. Aviation 2 — liability in operation of airport — damage to taxing plane — temporary deviation from runway A plaintiff who taxied his airplane off the concrete runway of an airport in order to avoid an automobile that was blocking the way to the airplane parking area failed to show that the operator of the airport was negligent when the plane struck a concrete slab, which was located on the grassy area just off the runway, and turned over, where (1) there was no evidence to suggest that the airport operator should have reasonably foreseen that plaintiff would abandon the runway in favor of a route not intended or maintained for airplane traffic and (2) the plaintiff's turning off the runway was for his own convenience and did not arise from any danger presented by the automobile. 2. Aviation 2, 5; Negligence 52 — pilot landing at airport — status of invitee A plaintiff who landed his airplane at a municipal airport with the intention of parking his airplane and paying a fee to the airport operator for this privilege was an invitee of the operator. 3. Aviation 2 — liability of airport operator to invitees — standard of care An aircraft landing field operator owes a duty to persons landing thereon by invitation to maintain the premises in reasonably safe condition for contemplated use, and he must use reasonable care to keep premises in reasonably safe condition so that a person landing his aircraft there will not be unreasonably exposed to any danger.

1. Automobiles 72 — accident case — doctrine of sudden emergency — sufficiency of evidence In a minor plaintiff's action for injuries received when his motorcycle collided into the defendant's truck that was turning across the plaintiff's lane of travel, plaintiff's evidence did not warrant an instruction on the doctrine of sudden emergency, where the plaintiff testified (1) that when he first observed the truck a block and a half away the truck was off the edge of the pavement and appeared to be completely stopped, (2) that he saw the truck beginning to pull out onto the pavement when he was less than one hundred feet away, and (3) that the truck entered his lane of travel when he was approximately forty-five feet away. 2. Trial 33 — instructions to the jury — application of law to the evidence The court is required to declare the law and apply the evidence thereto in regard to each substantial and essential feature of the case without any request for special instructions. 3. Automobiles 21 — doctrine of sudden emergency The doctrine of sudden emergency is not available to one who by his own negligence has brought about or contributed to the emergency. 4. Appeal and Error 53 — error cured by verdict When the issue of defendant's negligence was answered in favor of the plaintiffs, plaintiffs were not prejudiced by the admission of challenged testimony that related to the negligence of defendant. 5. Negligence 38, 42 — contributory negligence — instructions on defendant's burden of proof Trial court's instructions that, before the jury could answer the question of contributory negligence against the plaintiff, the defendants must satisfy them by the greater weight of the evidence that the plaintiff was guilty of negligence and that such negligence in one or more respects concurred with the negligence of defendants as a proximate cause of plaintiff's injuries, held sufficient to establish defendant's burden of proof on the issue of contributory negligence.