Originally Posted by
Clare Prop
Normally the insurance company will pay out the owner less the excess, then use their considerable resources to go after the person who did the damage.
That is the situation if that is what you have paid for in the PDS. What I was referring to in general was the coverage for the hirer, which is very dependent on what they signed for in the hire agreement. I worked for a few larger schools that had large fleets, I had to deal with the insurance companies more than a few times. Our stricter sign out procedures and 'quality control' of pilots meant we paid about half the rate other schools paid, and we helped private owners get that rate when they placed aircraft on line, saving them thousands in premiums. Our ab initio trainers for instance were insured for not much more than the average % of hull value that a private pilot would get for their personal machine not involved in training. So yes you can get insurance that will cover the owner for all damages within reason, but depending on who you let fly and the risk the amount you pay in premium will vary greatly, and to the point an insurer may refuse to cover an owner if their claims get too prolific.
I remember sitting at an aeroclub bar having a drink, when suddenly the fire trucks arrived. A Navajo had reported a gear malfunction and was looking at a tricky landing sans one leg. After a while it was apparent the aircraft was circling for an unusual amount of time. I heard from an associate of the aircraft owner that he hadn't renewed the insurance and was negotiating a deal for coverage before it landed... I later found out the insurance company had agreed to a deal around 50/50 costs with the owner due to them being a long term customer in the past. It would have been interesting if nothing had been sorted out, the pilot had hired the aircraft and was not the owner, so who knows what would have happened had he damaged the aircraft along the way and it wasn't an unforeseen mechanical issue. The Navajo ended up flopping onto one wing as the gear collapsed, with as little damage as could be expected, made for an entertaining watch while enjoying an ale.
Back then self insurance was common for some owners, that is no insurance. Floatplanes were particularly hard to get reasonable premiums for cover.
So again it's important to know when you sign a hire contract that it also covers you as the hirer, that is it states somewhere that you are covered by the owners insurance if you comply with the contract.
but what he seemed to say was that a flying instructor would carry liability for "signing out" a licensed pilot for a private hire, rather than the licensed pilot doing the signing as per a hire car.
In that case you could say that on behalf of the company the instructor is accepting in their belief that the hirer is fit to conduct the intended operation. Licence and medical sighted, aircraft appropriate to qualifications, complies with insurance requirements, tick, signed. I would not say they carry any liability other than signing over the keys to the pilot in a formal manner, time and place. If it's solo training mission with restrictions such as weather and planning considerations, that the instructor must ensure the student adheres to, that is a different matter. The only thing that the instructor may get in trouble for is if they continually sign out private hirers that end up damaging and costing insurance pay outs, then the premiums will start to jump costing the company and then questions will be asked of who they let fly.