Castro
Castro v. Fireman's Fund American Life Insurance
Opinion
Opinion
Racanelli, J.
In this case, we consider the interpretation of an aviation exclusion clause in a life insurance policy.
Facts
Shortly after 11 a.m. on December 16, 1984, Joseph Castro died in a small plane crash near Petaluma. Castro had been taking flying lessons since August 1984 from Vindar Aviation in Marin County and was scheduled to receive flight instruction from 9 to 11 a.m. on the day of the accident. Prior to that time, Castro, who had not yet qualified for a student pilot certificate, had logged about 15 hours of in-flight instruction and had completed lesson number seven in the FAA-approved syllabus. During the fatal flight, he was scheduled to fly the plane, a Cessna 152, 80 percent to 90 percent of the time.
The Cessna crashed outside the boundaries of the normal student training area. Witnesses observed the Cessna before the crash performing various aerobatic maneuvers—loops, spins, stalls and rolls. After the crash, Castro’s body was found in the left seat, the customary pilot seat; the body of Robert Lecky, the instructor pilot, was found in the right (instructor) seat. Analysis of a blood specimen taken from Lecky’s body revealed a blood-alcohol level of .21…