II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1431 

To provide liability protection for volunteer pilots who fly for the public 

benefit, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 26, 2017 

Mr. INHOFE (for himself, Mr. KING, and Mr. ROUNDS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide liability protection for volunteer pilots who fly 

for the public benefit, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Volunteer Pilot Protec5 tion Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Many volunteer pilots fly for the public ben9 efit for nonprofit organizations and provide valuable 

10 services to communities and individuals in need. 


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1 (2) In each calendar year volunteer pilots and 

2 the nonprofit organizations those pilots fly for pro3 vide long-distance, no-cost transportation for tens of 

4 thousands of people during times of special need. 

5 Flights provide patient and medical transport, dis6 aster relief, and humanitarian assistance, and con7 duct other charitable missions that benefit the pub8 lic. 

9 (3) Such nonprofit organizations have sup10 ported the homeland security of the United States 

11 by providing volunteer pilot services during and fol12 lowing disasters and during other times of national 

13 emergency. 

14 (4) Most other kinds of volunteers are protected 

15 from liability by the Volunteer Protection Act of 

16 1997 (42 U.S.C. 14501 et seq.), but volunteer pilots 

17 are not. 

18 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to 

19 amend the Volunteer Protection Act of 1997— 

20 (1) to extend the protection of that Act to vol21 unteer pilots; 

22 (2) to promote the activities of volunteer pilots 

23 and the nonprofit organizations those pilots fly for 

24 in providing flights for the public benefit; and 


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1 (3) to sustain and enhance the availability of 

2 the services that such pilots and nonprofit organiza3 tions provide, including— 

4 (A) transportation at no cost to financially 

5 needy medical patients for medical treatment, 

6 evaluation, and diagnosis; 

7 (B) flights for humanitarian and charitable 

8 purposes; and 

9 (C) other flights of compassion. 

10 SEC. 3. LIABILITY PROTECTION FOR VOLUNTEER PILOTS 

11 WHO FLY FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT. 

12 Section 4 of the Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 

13 (42 U.S.C. 14503) is amended— 

14 (1) by redesignating subsections (b) through (f) 

15 as subsections (c) through (g), respectively; 

16 (2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘subsections 

17 (b) and (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections (b), (c), and 

18 (e)’’; 

19 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(b) LIABILITY PROTECTION FOR PILOTS THAT FLY

22 FOR PUBLIC BENEFIT.—Except as provided in sub23 sections (c) and (e), no volunteer of a volunteer pilot non24 profit organization that arranges flights for public benefit 

25 shall be liable for harm caused by an act or omission of 


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1 the volunteer on behalf of the organization if, at the time 

2 of the act or omission, the volunteer— 

3 ‘‘(1) was operating an aircraft in furtherance of 

4 the purpose of, and acting within the scope of the 

5 volunteer’s responsibilities on behalf of, the non6 profit organization; 

7 ‘‘(2) was properly licensed and insured for the 

8 operation of the aircraft; 

9 ‘‘(3) was in compliance with all requirements of 

10 the Federal Aviation Administration for recent flight 

11 experience; and 

12 ‘‘(4) did not cause the harm through willful or 

13 criminal misconduct, gross negligence, reckless mis14 conduct, or a conscious, flagrant indifference to the 

15 rights or safety of the individual harmed by the vol16 unteer.’’; and 

17 (4) in subsection (g)(2), as redesignated, by 

18 striking ‘‘(e)’’ and inserting ‘‘(f)’’. 

Æ 


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