Page 16 - January 2015 Volume 9, Number1

golf cart and driven out to check on our airplane? I know I did it just this week!
The third coverage, as it relates to automobiles and mobile equipment, centers around your guests or passengers’ automobiles. When I was in high school, I worked for a large company in their flight department. We had our own hangar and frequently the passengers would pull onto the ramp and I would put their bags on the airplane and then drive their car away. If I hit something on the ramp, we now know there could be coverage under the aircraft policy for “On Airport Premises Liability.” But what if I wrecked their car while driving it into the hangar or around the airport? I could even be held liable if I damaged the car while it was sitting in the hangar. This situation would be protected by “Garagekeepers Operations.” This coverage is typically sub-limited to around $150,000 each automobile, not to exceed $1,000,000 each occurrence. So, if you damaged every passenger’s car, the most the insurance company will pay for the loss in its entirety is $1,000,000. When I was 17, I never asked the chief pilot if we had this coverage in our
policy. Thankfully, I never needed it, but it easily could have happened.
Next time you are at the airport, think about who will pay if something bad happens involving a car, tug, golf cart, or some other mobile equipment. We all know airplanes are expensive and traditional auto policies have “cheap” liability limits. It is alarming when you look at state minimum requirements for automobile operators. So, when one of those cars wanders onto the airport, what happens when they hit your airplane? What happens if you run into an airplane in your car? What if it isn’t a car, but a golf cart? You might be covered, but now you know what to look for to know for sure. KA
About the Author: Kyle P. White is the president of Aviation Solutions, LLC, and has professionally flown King Air 90s and B200s. He holds a Commercial and Flight Instructor license, and now specializes in aviation insurance. You can reach Kyle at kylewhite@aviationsolutions.aero.
14 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
JANUARY 2015