SAFA Skysailor Magazine

30 SKY SAILOR January | February 2024 has had a mid-air collision with and injured another pilot, and another pilot injured an innocent bystander walking on a footpath. Both have been costly in terms of health, stress and dollars. So, what happens if, say, you have an accident flying an aircraft – be it a speed wing or any other of our aircraft – and there is property damage, or a member of the public is injured? If you do not have a Speed Wind Endorsement (or are not authorised to fly a specific aircraft), you will not be covered by SAFA’s insurance policy and may be subject to legal action by the injured party, as you are not authorised to conduct that flight opera- tion. If you have personal accident insurance, they may refuse to accept the claim. Stop and think about that for a minute… How much is a deposit on a house these days? Have you started saving? Now start adding up your dis- posable assets. These may all be at risk if you are not covered by insurance. Whether you like it or not (and I personally despise it), many people in Australia have very definitely gone down the path of litigating at the drop of a hat. As part of insurance cover, insurers must have legal practitioners who try to mitigate the costs (via negotiations, etc.) before matters go to court, and if that happens… Barristers at three paces are never cheap. That is not a situation anybody wants to see occur. Our solution is to have the endorsement with its requirements and the training syllabus, so that you can undertake these activities as fully informed participants, operate safely, and are afforded the cover offered by our insurance policies. We want you to keep flying, but flying safely and responsibly.