Firm not entitled to coverage in owner’s death in plane crash: Court

A company does not have coverage for its owner’s death in an airplane crash because he did not have the required Federal Aviation Authority medical certification, even though the crash was apparently caused by a mechanical failure, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday in affirming a lower court.

David Schmutzler, owner and president of Port Washington, Wisconsin-based Jadair International Inc. and a pilot with decades of experience, was killed when the plane he was piloting crashed in May 2020, according to the ruling by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago in Jadair International Inc. v. American National Property & Casualty Co.

Galveston, Texas-based American National denied coverage under its aircraft insurance policy because Mr. Schmutzler did not have the current and valid FAA medical certificate the coverage required.

Jadair sued the insurer in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee, which ruled in American National’s favor.  It was affirmed by a three-judge appeals court panel.

It was undisputed that Mr. Schmutzler did not have a medical certificate and that the accident “was not caused by a health condition of Schmutzler’s,” the ruling said, in concluding that an endorsement’s wording did not exempt him from this requirement.

Attorneys in the case did not respond to requests for comment.