Liability of the owner or pilot of an aircraft carrying passengers for injury or death to the passengers is determined by the rules of law applicable to torts on the land or waters of this state, arising out of similar relationships. Every owner of an aircraft is liable and responsible for death or injury to person or property resulting from a negligent or wrongful act or omission in the operation of the aircraft, in the business of the owner or otherwise, by any person using or operating the same with the permission, express or implied, of the owner.
Cal. Pub. Util. Code § 21404
Regulation of Aeronautics
Known as the State Aeronautics Act
The act spans §§ 21001–21712 (174 sections).
Applied in 4 court decisions — leading case 17 Cal. 3d 380 - National Insurance Underwriters v. Carter (1976)
Most recently applied in Sumrall v. Modern Alloys, Inc. (April 2017)
Amended by Stats. 1973, Ch. 803.
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Official source: California Legislative Information. Reproduced from public-domain California statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.