Fixed-base operators and airports provide essential services that directly affect flight safety—fueling, maintenance, ground handling, deicing, and facilities management. When these services are performed negligently, the consequences can be fatal. Contaminated fuel, improperly serviced aircraft, icy runways, and hazardous airport conditions have all caused accidents that proper care would have prevented.
Unlike accidents caused by pilot error or mechanical failure, FBO and airport negligence cases often involve defendants with substantial insurance coverage and assets. These organizations profit from aviation activities and bear corresponding duties to provide services that meet professional standards and keep aircraft and passengers safe.
Fixed-Base Operator Services and Duties
FBOs serve as the primary service providers at most airports, offering fuel sales, aircraft parking, maintenance, and various support services. When an aircraft arrives at an airport, it is typically FBO personnel who fuel it, move it, and potentially perform maintenance. Each of these touchpoints creates opportunities for negligence that can cause accidents.
Fuel contamination represents one of the most dangerous FBO failures. Water, sediment, or wrong fuel type introduced during fueling can cause engine failure during flight. FBO operators must maintain clean fuel storage systems, properly filter fuel during dispensing, and verify fuel type before pumping. Contamination events typically indicate systemic failures in fuel quality control.
Ground handling errors include towing damage, incorrect weight and balance loading, and failures to secure aircraft properly. An FBO employee who damages flight controls while towing, who loads baggage creating dangerous center of gravity conditions, or who fails to secure an aircraft that blows into another creates liability exposure for the FBO.
Maintenance services performed by FBO mechanics must meet airworthiness standards. Mechanics who sign off inspections without completing required checks, who use improper parts or procedures, or who miss obvious defects bear responsibility for accidents caused by their maintenance failures. FBO maintenance records become crucial evidence in post-accident investigation.
Fuel-Related Accidents
Misfueling—putting the wrong type of fuel in an aircraft—causes predictable, catastrophic failures. Jet fuel in a piston aircraft engine or avgas in a turbine creates conditions the engine cannot survive. FBO protocols must ensure proper fuel identification, but misfueling accidents continue to occur despite decades of safety warnings.
Water contamination typically enters fuel supplies through tank condensation, leaking storage facilities, or contaminated fuel deliveries. Water in jet fuel can freeze in fuel lines at altitude, blocking fuel flow and causing engine failure. FBO operators must regularly drain and test fuel storage systems and should provide pilots with means to sample fuel before departure.
Inadequate fuel quantity—pumping less fuel than ordered or than gauges indicate—can cause fuel exhaustion during flight. While pilots bear responsibility for verifying fuel quantity, FBO fueling equipment that malfunctions or employees who fail to deliver ordered quantities may share liability when fuel exhaustion occurs.
Deicing Failures
Aircraft flying in winter conditions require proper deicing to remove contamination and anti-icing to prevent new accumulation during taxi and takeoff. FBOs that provide deicing services must use approved fluids, apply them correctly, and ensure complete coverage of critical surfaces. Deicing failures have caused numerous takeoff accidents when ice-contaminated wings failed to produce adequate lift.
The concept of holdover time describes how long anti-icing fluids remain effective after application. If an aircraft sits too long between deicing and takeoff, fluid effectiveness degrades and new ice can accumulate. FBOs that fail to advise pilots of holdover limitations or that delay aircraft unreasonably after deicing may bear liability.
Improper fluid application includes using wrong concentrations, missing critical surfaces, or applying fluids at incorrect temperatures. Deicing crews must be trained to recognize different ice types and apply appropriate treatments. Rushed or careless deicing during busy winter operations creates accident risks that proper procedures would prevent.
Airport Operator Responsibilities
Airports—whether operated by municipal authorities, port districts, or private companies—bear responsibility for maintaining safe facilities. Runways, taxiways, lighting, and navigational aids must meet applicable standards. Airports that defer maintenance or ignore hazardous conditions may bear liability when accidents result from facility deficiencies.
Runway contamination from snow, ice, standing water, or debris affects aircraft stopping distance and directional control. Airports must provide accurate runway condition reports so pilots can determine whether operations are safe. Airports that provide inaccurate reports or fail to address known contamination may be liable for overrun and loss-of-control accidents.
Lighting and marking deficiencies contribute to runway incursions, wrong runway takeoffs, and landing accidents. Faded markings, inoperative lights, and confusing taxiway geometry create hazards that airports must address. Accidents at locations with known marking or lighting deficiencies suggest airport negligence in maintaining visual guidance systems.
Foreign object debris (FOD) on runways and taxiways can damage aircraft or cause tire failures at critical moments. Airports must conduct regular FOD inspections and respond promptly when debris is reported. Failure to maintain debris-free operating surfaces creates liability when FOD damages aircraft.
Establishing Negligence
FBO and airport cases require proving the same elements as other negligence claims: duty, breach, causation, and damages. The duty element is usually straightforward—service providers owe duties of reasonable care to aircraft operators and passengers they serve. The breach and causation elements typically drive FBO litigation.
Service records document what FBO personnel did and when. Fueling receipts show quantities and times; maintenance logs record work performed; deicing records indicate procedures followed. Discrepancies between records and physical evidence, or gaps in documentation, may indicate negligence that operators tried to conceal.
Expert testimony establishes industry standards and explains how defendant conduct deviated from acceptable practices. FBO and airport operations involve specialized knowledge that jurors lack. Experts translate technical failures into negligence concepts that support liability findings.
Witness testimony from FBO employees, pilots, and other observers helps reconstruct what happened. Employees may acknowledge procedural shortcuts; pilots may describe services received before accidents. Even where defendants are uncooperative, other witnesses often provide crucial information.
Government Immunity Considerations
Many airports are operated by government entities—cities, counties, port authorities, or special districts. These operators may enjoy sovereign immunity protections that limit or bar negligence claims. Most states have waived immunity for proprietary functions like airport operations, but the scope of waivers varies significantly.
Federal airports on military installations or operated directly by the federal government present Federal Tort Claims Act considerations. FTCA claims require administrative exhaustion before suit and apply different procedural rules than state-law claims against private defendants.
Private FBOs operating at government airports generally do not share the airport's immunity protections. Even where claims against the airport itself may be limited, claims against private service providers proceed under ordinary negligence principles.
Damages and Recovery
FBO and airport negligence cases produce damages comparable to other aviation accidents—wrongful death claims for fatal accidents, personal injury claims for survivors, and property damage claims for aircraft losses. The applicable damage rules depend on whether domestic or international law governs and which state's law applies.
Insurance coverage for FBOs and airports typically exceeds coverage carried by individual pilots or small aircraft operators. Commercial service providers are often more collectible defendants than pilots whose estates may have limited assets. Identifying FBO or airport liability may determine whether victims receive meaningful compensation.
Pursuing Your Claim
If an FBO or airport may have contributed to an accident that harmed your family, prompt investigation preserves essential evidence. Service records, employee statements, and physical evidence from the accident scene establish what services were provided and how they may have been deficient.
Aviation attorneys experienced in FBO and airport liability understand the technical standards these service providers must meet and how failures cause accidents. This specialized knowledge guides investigation and helps build compelling cases for accountability and compensation.