Aviation Industry Law

Buchalter’s Aviation, Airports, and Aerospace Industry Group is one of only a few of its kind in the United States, and brings together the firm’s extensive regulatory and transactional expertise with a dynamic litigation team. We are frequently called upon to serve as lead counsel in high-profile, precedent-setting cases. Our aviation and aerospace attorneys, a number of whom have advanced degrees in planning and engineering, are uniquely positioned to navigate the front lines in a changing regulatory environment, including the burgeoning field of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

Our clients cover the full spectrum of the aviation industry, including airlines, airport operators, aerospace manufacturers, aviation trade associations, fixed base operators, and corporate aircraft purchasers, as well as landowners and developers affected by airport operations. Tapping into the technical and industry expertise of our lawyers and intellectual property professionals, we offer a full range of legal services tailored to fit each client’s unique needs.

Aviation Regulatory, Land Use and Environmental Law and Litigation 

  • Representation of airports in litigation concerning Federal Aviation Administration regulatory compliance, inverse condemnation and nuisance actions
  • Representation of land owners in negotiations with the FAA, state and local jurisdictions concerning citing, regulatory and zoning issues for towers, buildings and other structures in the vicinity of airports
  • Representation of Fixed Base Operators (FBOs) in negotiations with airports and filing challenges with the FAA under 14 C.F.R. Part 16
  • Creation and application of Airport Land Use Compatibility Plans (ALUCPs) governing public entities surrounding airports
  • Representation of airports in the development of Airport Master Plans and Airport Layout Plans for the future growth of the airport
  • Representation of public entities in the resolution of airport  noise issues including the obtaining of noise variances under Cal. Pub. Util. Code § 21000, et seq.
  • Representation of airports and other public and private clients in compliance with and challenges under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
  • Federal Water Pollution Control Act (Clean Water Act)
  • Clean Air Act
  • Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)
  • Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
  • Endangered Species Act
  • Historic Preservation Act
  • California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
  • California Coastal Act
  • Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act
  • Airport Noise and Capacity Act (ANCA)

Unmanned Aircraft System (“UAS”)

  • Representation of manufacturers and operators of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in design, approval and operational issues

 Aircraft Financing

  • Representation of a major publicly held oil and gas corporation in the acquisition of a newly built Boeing Business Jet for use by the Chairman of the Board and CEO, and the review and negotiation of contracts for the installation of the custom interior of the Boeing Business Jet
  • Representation of the security trustee for various foreign banks and government export credit agencies, in drafting and negotiating an opinion for a $2.6 billion term loan to finance the acquisition of 64 new aircraft directly from Airbus by one of the largest aircraft leasing company in the world
  • Negotiation and documentation of the acquisition of a Gulfstream IV SP for the foreign owner of a multi-billion dollar, multi-national corporation from a major U.S. domiciled international financial institution
  • Representation of a secured lender in the structuring, negotiation and closing of a $25 million facility to a worldwide provider of aircraft goods and services involving the creation, perfection and priority of security interests in aircraft parts subject to consignment contracts with several major air carriers, including Continental Airlines, and the registration against aircraft engines in more than 70 countries under the Cape Town Convention
  • Negotiation and documentation of the acquisition of a Global Express Aircraft from a major hotel/casino operator for a California domiciled privately held corporation
  • Representation of the aircraft holding subsidiary of a major privately held financial institution in the acquisition of a new Hawker 800 and used Gulfstream V, plus representation of the same entity in the disposition of numerous Gulfstream and Hawker aircraft
  • Representation and negotiation of the acquisition of a used Lear Jet by a major garment industry client of the firm