Hinman v. Pacific Air Transport
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
84 F.2d 755 (1936)
Relevant factsFree
Pacific Air Transport and United Air Lines (defendants) regularly flew airplanes less than 100 feet above Hinman's (plaintiff) property; Hinman sued for trespass, claiming ownership of airspace from at least 150 feet upward, and sought an injunction plus $90,000 in damages from each airline. The district court dismissed the suits, and Hinman appealed.
IssueFree
Whether an airplane's flight over a landowner's property constitutes trespass under the ad coelum doctrine granting property rights from the earth's center to the sky.