Aircraft airworthiness (condition of cover)

Aircraft airworthiness, as a condition of cover, is the requirement in a hull or liability policy that the aircraft fly under a valid certificate of airworthiness, periodic review included. On September 1, 2001, an aircraft flown by Kevin Jensen lost power and crashed into Griffin's backyard in Nevada. The certificate of airworthiness had lapsed. Old Republic's policy excluded cover while that certificate was not in full force. In 2006 the Nevada Supreme Court, answering a question certified by the federal court of appeals, held that the insurer did not have to prove a link between the lapse and the crash. It was enough that the exclusion be clear, narrowly tailored and go to the risk accepted. The certificate of airworthiness is issued by the state of registry, as Article 31 of the Chicago Convention provides. In Europe it is valid only with an airworthiness review certificate, the ARC, renewed every year, and maintenance under the approved program. Policies take it as proof of everything else: inspections done, airworthiness directives applied, parts traced. The insurer sees only the paper. US case law is split: most states do not require causation, others do. Under English law, the Insurance Act 2015 moved the line in section 11. A term aimed at reducing a particular kind of risk cannot be relied on if the insured shows that the breach could not have increased the risk of the loss that occurred. Lessors and banks protect themselves through the AVN 67B endorsement (AVN: Aviation, London market clauses), which keeps their cover alive despite the operator's breach.