Injured as a passenger on an airline, light aircraft or helicopter?

Our balloon and ultralight injury service includes joy flights in those aircraft. That page explains operator decisions, briefings, landings and equipment issues. See our balloon and ultralight injury claims page.

Possibly. Qualifying charter and scenic flights can fall under passenger-carriage law, including some flights that return to the same place. The operator, carriage arrangements, route, accident and your role all matter. Send us the booking, itinerary and operator details so we can check the claim route and deadlines.

The claim needs a separate assessment. A private, training or aerial-work label does not, by itself, determine your rights. We check the operator’s approvals, the carriage arrangements, what you were doing and who may be responsible. Some aerial-work passengers can still be covered by passenger-carriage law. Otherwise, negligence, workers’ compensation or another route may need assessment, with different deadlines.

Tell us whether you were operating or crewing the aircraft, performing another task, or simply travelling as a passenger for work. A work trip does not automatically remove passenger rights, and a crew injury should not be treated as an ordinary passenger claim. We check the applicable workers’ compensation scheme and any other available claim, including how payments must be coordinated.

That is a separate route to assess. An aircraft impact or falling object may engage the Damage by Aircraft Act where its requirements are met. Other ground injuries may involve negligence or workers’ compensation. We check the cause, location and parties rather than automatically applying passenger rules or their 2-year deadline.

It depends on the claim route. Covered passenger-carriage claims can be made without proving carrier negligence, but you still need to establish the applicable accident and injury requirements. Under the Montreal Convention, 151,880 SDR is the current first-tier threshold, not a total compensation cap. Above it, the carrier has specified defences concerning its own fault or sole third-party fault. A passenger’s contribution to the injury can affect recovery. Qualifying domestic carriage has a different statutory liability limit. We check which regime governs your flight.

Often, yes. Turbulence that throws you around the cabin is usually an unexpected event outside you. What matters is what happened, so write down the details while they’re fresh.

Your body’s own reaction to a normal flight. Deep vein thrombosis from a long flight isn’t an accident, (Povey v Qantas, 2005) and psychological injury on its own, with no bodily injury, generally isn’t covered.

For a Montreal Convention claim, court action must start within 2 years, calculated under the Convention from arrival at the destination, the date the aircraft should have arrived, or when carriage stopped. The right to damages ends if proceedings are not started in time; this period cannot be extended.

For a claim under the domestic carriers’ liability provisions, court action must start within 2 years after arrival at the destination. If the aircraft did not arrive, the period runs from the later of when it should have arrived and when carriage stopped. The right to damages ends if proceedings are not started in time; this period cannot be extended.

For a Queensland negligence claim to which PIPA applies, notice is due by the earlier of 9 months after the incident (or first symptoms, if they were not immediately apparent) and 1 month after first instructing a law practice to seek damages when the proposed respondent is identified. Late notice needs a reasonable excuse. Queensland negligence court proceedings generally need to start within 3 years of the injury. Children, legal incapacity and limited extensions need separate advice.

Private flying, training, crew and surface-injury claims need their own assessment. Contact us promptly, including if a date may already have passed.

Possibly. The Montreal Convention allows claims only in specified jurisdictions. We check the carrier’s domicile or principal place of business, its place of business through which the contract was made, and the destination. A passenger’s principal and permanent residence can provide another forum for injury claims only if the Convention’s additional service and business-premises conditions are met. Living in Australia or buying a ticket online does not by itself establish the right to sue here.

First we check whether the accident occurred during boarding or disembarking under the applicable passenger-carriage law. A terminal or helipad location alone does not decide the answer. If it is a Queensland negligence claim, we assess the airport operator, ground handler or other responsible party and the applicable notice and court deadlines. Injuries caused by an aircraft to people on the ground may need a different claim route.