Threlkeld

Statement of Facts

Appellants Thacher Threlkeld and Victor DeLuca, Jr., were co-owners of a Piper Twin Commanche aircraft. Respondents insured the aircraft for hull damage.

While the policy was in force, Threlkeld, a business associate and a pilot, Rowland Eskew, were en route from Burbank to Fresno. Eskew was piloting the plane. There was cloud cover, and they were flying by visual flight rules (VFR). Eskew tried to find a way through the mountains and the clouds, but through a combination of “downdraft” conditions and the plane’s inability to climb at a normal rate, they were forced down on Frazier Mountain, near Gorman.

No one was seriously injured, but the plane was practically a total loss. Appellants made an insurance claim for the hull damage, which respondents refused.

The insurance policy had an exclusion barring coverage unless the plane’s airworthiness certificate was “in full force and effect.” The plane’s airworthiness certificate provided it would remain in effect as long as the aircraft was maintained in accordance with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations. Respondents contend that appellants’ failure to get an annual inspection suspended…