Allegheny Airlines, Inc. v. United States (Case Note)

On September 9, 1969, Robert W. Carey, a student pilot flying a solo cross-country flight in a plane owned by the operator of the flight school in which he was enrolled, collided with an Allegheny Airlines plane near Fairland, Indiana, destroying both aircraft and killing Carey, the crew of the Allegheny aircraft, and all 78 passengers. Allegheny Airlines, Inc. and G.E.C.C. Leasing Corporation brought suit-seeking recovery of damages sustained by their aircraft and engine, and named Forth Corporation, owner of the airplane and operator of the flying school, as a defendant. The trial court, in holding for the defendants, determined that Allegheny Airlines was contributorily negligent in the operation of its aircraft and that neither joint enterprise nor statutory vicarious liability were applicable. The defendants appealed the trial court\u27s decision to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Held, reversed: A flying school/aircraft owner is engaged in a joint enterprise with its student pilots and is vicariously liable for the student\u27s negligent acts