Legal and Ethical Decision-Making
Aviation Law Case Study
Alejandre vs. The Republic of Cuba
For this individual project, we were tasked to choose an aviation related court case and go in depth on the details and why it was ruled as so. I chose Alejandre vs. The Republic of Cuba 1996. This individual case highlighted international law with foreign sovereign states. The main documents used in the case were the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 or known as FSIA. Under FSIA, a federal court lacks subject matter in a case against a foreign state unless it falls under one of FSIA's enumerated exceptions. With the knowledge of this act and its enumerated exceptions I was able to understand the case and its verdict.​
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The presentation dissects and explains the case. It shows the legal consequences and uncertainty of international flight/flight close to sovereign states. I highlighted the legal reasoning behind the verdict and the grey areas of international law.
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Learning about this case was interesting for many reasons. The case itself was interesting because it dealt with a foreign sovereign state in which laws get grey. Going over a case like this and covering the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 will prepare me better for international flight in my future profession. Before this project I would have never thought about the risk associated flight near sovereign states because international law is international law, but this case opened my eyes to the grey areas of sovereign states.
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Legal and Ethical Decision-Making
Leadership: Senior Seminar
Ethical Dilemma
For this assignment, we were tasked with discussing an unethical dilemma that may arise in our given profession. As an aviation major, a big concern is flying more than the allowed amount. This is a problem for the airlines who had become understaffed due to COVID. My paper highlights the dangers and concerns for pilots. ​
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There are a lot of regulations and judgement calls when it comes to aviation and rightfully so. A pilot is in control of a very expensive aircraft and priceless lives. Pilots must always be on their "A" game or horrific accidents can occur. When decided to go fly pilots must evaluate themselves as much as the plane itself. A simple cold could cause a pilot to get disoriented during flight causing an accident. Making the right decision on when to fly and when not to fly is crucial to the safety of any given flight.
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Reviewing the ethical and legal decisions pilots have to make always brings more knowledge on the topic. Going through this paper helped me realize that as unfortunate as it is to have a flight cancelled, the pilot should always make the ethical decision of if they are fit to fly or not.
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