A state appeals court has affirmed the decision of a lower court judge to not hold an airport in New Jersey liable for damages to an aircraft struck by a sleeping driver.

The suit was filed in 2006 when a driver fell asleep at the wheel and plowed through a chain link fence at Teterboro Airport, smashing into a plane on the tarmac 75 feet from the road.

The plane owners, Potomac Aviation Services, sued the airport for failing to install fencing that would adequately protect the plane and for parking it in a dangerous spot.

At issue were federal and industry guidelines for the type of fencing that was used to cordon off the airport property. The aviation company maintained that chain link fencing was in violation of safety measures.

However, the airport was found not liable for the damages. “There is nothing presented that in common sense or fairness convinces us that defendants’ duty to exercise reasonable care over plaintiff’s plane or to provide a reasonably safe place for it to be parked included an obligation to install guide rail or other protective devices,” the judges concluded.

If you have been the victim of another driver on the road, contact the Edison personal injury lawyers of Levinson Axelrod, P.A., today by calling 800-346-5529.