O
n the utility
side
of our industry,
rotary-wing aircraft
accomplish a high volume of different tasks, ranging from firefighting to survey work to longline external loads. One such task once brought about an appellate court decision that helped specifically define our rights under the U.S. Constitution to do that work in metropolitan areas. Today, we will discuss Article VI and the 10th Amendment. Yes, the Constitution applies to what we do with our aircraft.
In 1988, Command Helicopters was contracted to conduct external load work within the city limits of Chicago. Command held a 14 CFR § Part 133 operating certificate issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and operated single-engine helicopters for longline work under that certificate. The City of Chicago attempted to prevent single-engine operations within city limits by enacting a municipal ordinance in early 1988 that stated:
37-30 No person shall operate a helicopter that is being used for raising, lowering or otherwise moving any external object unless the helicopter has two operating power sections driving the rotors turning about the vertical axis.
37-31 Any person violating Section 37-30 shall be fined not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) for each offense and each day such violations shall continue shall be regarded as a separate offense.
Command sued the City of Chicago, stating that the ordinance violated the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the United States Constitution. Before we get to the meat of the litigation, let’s look at two things. First, what is the Supremacy Clause, and two, why was this brought to an Article III court (in this case, a U.S. Circuit Court) and not to an Administrative Law Judge under FAA jurisdiction?
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