Opinion ID: 3011057
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Reserved State Power

Text: Finally, as the District Court pointed out, some courts have found that federal law does not preempt state law in the field of aviation safety because they believe that states may regulate aviation safety under their traditional police powers. See, e.g., Cleveland, 985 F.2d at 1443; Kiefer v. Continental Airlines, Inc., 882 S.W.2d 496, 505 (Tex. App. 1994). However, whether the states may invoke their police powers depends on whether the field is federally preempted. See Cleveland, 985 F.2d at 1441 (Consideration of issues arising under the Supremacy Clause `start[s] with the assumption that the historic police powers of the States [are] not to be superseded by . . . Federal Act unless that [is] the clear and manifest purpose of Congress'.) (quoting Cipollone, 505 U.S. at 516 (citation omitted); accord Hodges, 44 F.3d at 338. As a result, because we have found that the entirefield of aviation safety is federally preempted, we need not consider whether the regulation of aviation safety falls 21 within the traditional police powers of the states and territories.