Originally Posted by dlgjnu
Background if it matters. I am 50+. Private Pilot. I have been around aviation my whole life. 18 years as Air Force dependent, father was a fighter pilot. 2 years flight line mechanic at Cessna Aircraft twin Cessna plant. 8 years FAA, ATC, Flight service, bush Alaska. 10 years and counting, FAA Nav/Comm tech. 350 hours flight time, mostly PIC, single engine, Alaska time. I live/work in VT and NH now.
I am about to start work on my Commercial, Instrument and CFI. I love teaching and feel flight instruction as a part time gig would be a natural fit. I am already at the airport most days anyhow. I have heard of some CFI's who are 50+, own homes, have a bank account who will not teach or teach primary instruction anymore because of liability concerns if somewhere/sometime one of their students augers in. These folks have a wealth of experience, are superb instructors. But, they don't want to lose what they have worked for over the years to some injury lawyer.
Here is the question: Is this a big concern? Is there liability insurance? How do most CFI's handle this?
Thanks.
Most CFIs handle it by being young and penniless. There are a few older, professional CFIs who do enough business to pay for appropriate legal and insurance protections.
I no longer teach for that reason. Unfortunately, even students who are friends or family aren't liability-proof. They could injure their passenger or someone on the ground, and you would still get sued.
It appears almost impossible to prevail as a defendent in an aviation lawsuit. The 12 idiots who will be selected as your jurors know nothing about it, and are too stupid and ignorant of fundamental science and engineering concepts to ever come close to understanding the issues. They do, however, know for certain that all pilots are reckless cowboys who routinely endanger their own and other's lives.
Your comfort level might depend on what state you live in, but if your student flies to California and THEN crashes...
If you want to do it badly enough, you could form an LLC and get appropriate insurance. You would probably need to do a fair amount of teaching to cover the expenses. See a local attorney for that.