Paul A. Lange

With more than 25 years experience litigating aviation related cases through trial and appeal, Paul A. Lange focuses his practice primarily on aviation, litigation, insurance and related transactional matters. Paul remains current as a pilot and his regular operations in the air traffic control system utilizing the latest avionics provide for unparalleled cross examination opportunities at trial and deposition. Among his more noteworthy matters, Paul obtained the equivalent of an injunction against the United States Army staying the sale of Army property adjacent to a Connecticut airport which, if sold as contracted, would have had disastrous consequences for businesses located on the Airport. Paul was also recently retained to represent a helicopter tour operator in connection with the 2009 Hudson River Midair collision.

Paul maintains a Martindale Hubbell rating of AV, the highest rating achievable. He has been widely published on a variety of aviation and insurance related legal topics and has spoken to numerous audiences nationwide and internationally on these subjects as well. Paul has also testified before the Connecticut Legislature on matters impacting aviation within the State of Connecticut. He presently serves on the National Business Aviation Association's Regulatory Issues Advisory Group and leads an industry coalition advocating for reform of the NTSB Rules of Practice in FAA Emergency Proceedings. Paul serves on the Board of Directors of the New England Air Museum and the Long Island Business Aviation Association. He is Chair of the Connecticut Business Aviation Group and is the New England Region Vice President of the NTSB Bar Association.

Prior to starting the firm in 1992, Paul spent 3½ years with the FAA, first as a law clerk and later as an attorney in the FAA Eastern Region Assistant Chief Counsel's Office located in New York. While in those positions, Paul prosecuted numerous and varied FAA certificate holders, including emergency revocation and large civil penalty actions against prominent airlines and repair stations. The Eastern Region's international oversight responsibilities also provided him with extensive exposure to enforcement actions against non U.S. certificate holders. Paul later joined the New York offices of two large and nationally prominent law firms, where he handled a variety of tort and commercial matters primarily for the aviation industry.

Publications

• Your Rights When the FAA Comes Knocking - Part Two; Aviation Business Journal (Official Publication of the National Air Transportation Association) (4th Quarter 2009)
• Your Rights When the FAA Comes Knocking - Part One; Aviation Business Journal (Official Publication of the National Air Transportation Association) (3rd Quarter 2009)
• The FAA Enforcement Process; Air Beat (The Official Journal of the Airborne Law Enforcement Association)(November/December 2004)
• FAA Enforcement - What Every Certificate Holder Should Know, Long Island Business Aviation Association Newsletter, Spring Issue, Issue No. 4 (May 2003)
• Designee Liability, Avionics News, Vol. 39, No. 10 (October 2002)
• Aviation Law, Long Island Business Aviation Association Newsletter, Fall Issue, Issue No.2 (October 2002)
• Georgia Rejects Inception Rule; Leaves Aviation Insurance Coverage to Jury, Federal Bar Association TransLaw newsletter (Spring 1999)
• Contributor to bulk supplier/component part monograph published by ABA Products Liability Committee (Spring, 1999)
• Impact of FAA Enforcement Proceedings on Related Tort Litigation, Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association Journal, Vol. XX No. 1 (Spring 1998)
• When Does A "Civil Aircraft" Become A "Public Aircraft"?, ABA Aviation Litigation News, Vol. VII, No. 2 (November 1996)
• Pilot in Command Liability for Actions of Parachutists: Strict Liability or Something Else? (co-authored with Michael P. Dandini), ABA Aviation Litigation News, Vol VII No. 1, April 1996.
• Reexaminations of FAA Certificates (co-authored with Michael P. Dandini), ABA Aviation Litigation News, Vol VI, No. 3 (November 1995)
• Can a crewmember rely upon others (including other crewmembers) in the course of performing his or her duties? (1995)
• Tort Liabilities Surrounding Homebuilt, Amateur-Built and Experimental Aircraft, 60 JALC 575 (1995).
• Impact of FAA Enforcement Proceedings on Related Tort Litigation (1994)
• Obtaining Attorney's Fees and Costs in FAA Enforcement Proceedings (1994)
• Fuel Exhaustion/Mismanagement: An Overview of FAA Actions and NTSB Cases (1993)
• FAA Falsification Cases: A Primer (1993)
• Evaluating Business and Regulatory Risk When Choosing Feed Air Carrier Affiliates (1992)
• NTSB Decides Not To Follow 11th Circuit In Medical Certificate Cases (1992), The FAA's Civil Penalty Program: History and Procedure (1991)
• FAA Eastern Region 'Special Inspections': Practical Considerations When Representing Air Carriers and Their Employees (1991)
• When is a Helicopter Flying Too Low? (1990) A Walk Through the FAA Enforcement Process (1990)
• Changes in the FAA's Civil Penalty Program (1989)
• Contributor of case briefs to the ABA Tort and Insurance Practice Section Aviation Newsletter (1988-89)

Speeches

• "Most Frequently Issued FAA Part 135 Violations", presented at the National Air Transportation Association in Chantilly, VA (June 7, 2011)
• "Responding to Enforcement Actions; What Are Your Rights?", presented at the National Air Transportation Association in Chantilly, VA (June 9, 2009)
• "Dealing with the FAA: The Hidden Risks", presented at the Oxford Flying Club (Oxford, CT, February 17, 2009)
• "Local Aviation Groups: Where the Rubber Meets the Road", presented at the National Business Aviation Association Annual Meeting& Convention (Orlando, FL, October 4, 2008)
• "Fatal on Final Approach - Attacking Incompatible Zoning", presented at the AIA Annual Conference in New Orleans, LA (May 2, 2005)
• "Embattled Airports", presented at the National Business Aviation Association Annual Convention in Las Vegas, NV (October 12, 2004)
• "Tort and Regulatory Liability of the Scheduler/Dispatcher" - presented to the National Business Aviation Association's Schedulers and Dispatchers Convention (Savannah, GA, January 2004)
• Fundamentals of Liability Insurance Law Seminar - continuing legal education program presented by Sterling Education Services (Bridgeport, CT, October 15, 2003)
• Warranties: What Can and Can't Be Disclaimed, presented at PMA's & DER Approved Repairs conference (San Antonio, TX, March 25, 2003)
• Legal Management, presented at "Team Leader Training for Aviation Maintenance Professionals", sponsored by the National Air Transportation Association (Tampa, Florida, May 9 and 10, 2000 and St. Louis, Missouri, November 13 and 14, 2000)
• Enforcement - Is a Causal Connection Required to Avoid Coverage on an Aviation Liability Policy?, presented at the Lawyers-Pilots Bar Association Summer Meeting (Sun Valley, July 2000)
• Aviation Data: Propriety, Approval and Misappropriation, presented at the Airline Suppliers Association Annual Conference (Las Vegas, June 2000)
• A Flight School on Trial, presented at the International Flight School Operators Conference (Allentown, Pennsylvania, March 2000)
• Elements of Third-Party Practice, presented at the New York State Bar Association's Construction Site Litigation Seminar (New York, New York October, 1999)
• Parts Purchasing - Commercial Laws and Case Histories, presented at the Airline Supplier Association's Annual Conference "Strategies for Success in Aviation" (Marco Island, Florida, July, 1999)
• Enforceability of Warranties in the Sale of Aircraft Parts, presented at the Gorham Advanced Materials' conference "OEM, PMA & DER Approvals for Aircraft Engine Parts Manufacture & Repair" (San Antonio, March, 1999)
• FAA Enforcement - What Every Certificate Holder Should Know, presented at the Aviation Maintenance Conference: Ensuring Safety through Quality Management during Aircraft Maintenance, sponsored by the International Quality and Productivity Centre (Hong Kong, May 1998)
• Employment Laws of Concern to the Corporate Flight Department, presented at the NBAA 7th Annual Corporate Aviation Management Conference (Houston, January 1998)
• Enforcement - What Every FAA Certificate Holder Should Know, presented at the Second Annual European Conference on Ensuring Safety through Quality Management during Aircraft Maintenance, sponsored by the International Quality and Productivity Centre (Amsterdam, December 1997)
• Impact of FAA Enforcement Proceedings on Related Tort Litigation, presented to the Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association, New England Regional Meeting (Nantucket, October 1997)
• Pitfalls in the Transfer of Aircraft Parts: Commercial Concerns and Criminal Liabilities, presented at the Airline Suppliers Association Annual Conference (Palm Beach, July 1997)
• Enforcement - What Every FAA Certificate Holder Should Know, presented at the First Major Asia-Pacific Conference on Ensuring Safety through Quality Management during Aircraft Maintenance, sponsored by the International Quality and Productivity Centre (Singapore, June 1997)
  

Memberships

• National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) (Member, Regulatory Issues Advisory Group)
• National Air Transportation Association (NATA) (Member, Air Charter Committee; prior service on the Airports Committee)
• Connecticut Business Aviation Group (Chairman)
• Long Island Business Aviation Association (Board of Directors)
• National Transportation Safety Board Bar Association (New England Region Vice-President)
• Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association (LPBA)
• Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) (Member, Legal Services Plan)
• Connecticut Bar Association (CBA) (Member, Litigation, Insurance Law, and Federal Procedure)
• Connecticut Defense Lawyers Association (CDLA)
• American Bar Association (ABA) (Member, Air & Space Law, Litigation, Tort Trial and Insurance Practice)
• Federal Bar Council
• Federal Bar Association
• Aviation Insurance Association (AIA)
• Helicopter Association International (HAI)
• Defense Research Institute (DRI) (Member, Aerospace Law, Commercial Litigation, Insurance, Trial Tactics and Trucking Law)
• Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA)
• The Wings Club