Underwriters at Lloyd's of London v. Cordova Airlines, Inc.

This is an appeal by the Underwriters at Lloyd’s of London and other participating underwriters from a judgment entered upon a jury verdict in favor of Cordova Airlines, Inc., in the latter’s suit to recover under an insurance policy for the total loss of an aircraft which crashed near Iliamma Lake, Alaska, on December 18, 1955. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.A. §§ 1291 and 1294(2)-

At the time of the crash the plane was operating under a ninety-day charter or contract to Morrison-Knudsen Company and then engaged in transporting dynamite to a construction site at “Big Mountain,” Alaska, where Morrison-Knudsen was a subcontractor for Western Electric Co. in erecting an air defense radar installation for the United States Air Force. It is undisputed that the dynamite being carried by the aircraft did not explode either before or after the accident; the actual cause of the accident is unknown (the pilot was killed instantly) . After the crash, the airline promptly presented its claim under the policy for the full value of the aircraft ($15,200.00), but the insurer denied liability because of purported violations of the policy during the flight.

Appellant urges that Cordova…