Mang v. Travelers Ins. Co.
| Decision Date | 23 February 1967 |
| Docket Number | No. 14551,14551 |
| Citation | 412 S.W.2d 672 |
| Parties | Betsy Ann Meuth MANG et al., Appellants, v. The TRAVELERS INSURANCE COMPANY et al., Appellees. . San Antonio |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
Robert L. Strickland, Carl Raymond Crites, Thomas H. Peterson, San Antonio, for appellants.
Grady Barrett, San Antonio, for appellees.
Betsy Ann Meuth Mang, individually and as guardian of her minor children, filed this suit to recover from defendant, The Travelers Insurance Company, $15,000.00, the face amount of a life insurance policy issued by Travelers on the life of Alvis Ray Meuth who, at the time of his death, was the husband of Betsy Meuth Mang, the beneficiary under the policy. Plaintiffs appeal from a summary judgment rendered in favor of the defendant insurance company.
Alvis Ray Meuth was killed in an airplane crash on March 10, 1963. It is undisputed that at the time of his death he was traveling as a passenger in an airplane piloted by William E. Fricke, who held a student pilot certificate.
The policy in question excluded from its coverage injuries occurring in consequence of travel or flight in any aircraft except, insofar as here pertinent, while the insured was traveling 'as a passenger in a powered civil aircraft of United States or Canadian registry having a valid and current airworthiness certificate issued by the duly constituted authority of the United States or Canada having jurisdiction over civil aviation, and operated by a duly licensed or certificated pilot, while such aircraft is being used for transportation only and not for any purpose such as testing, experimenting, or any other purpose except the sole purpose of transportation.'
The airplane in question was a powered civil aircraft having a valid and current airworthiness certificate issued by the appropriate agency of the United States. Therefore, the only question which we need decide is whether the airplane in question which was being operated by a student pilot, was, at the time of the fatal accident, being 'operated by a duly licensed or certificated pilot.'
The certification of pilots in this country is governed by Part 61 of the Federal Aviation Regulations promulgated by the Federal Aviation Agency. Sec. 61.1 recites that Part 61 prescribes the requirements for the issuance of
The requirements for obtaining a certificate, the privileges conferred by the issuance of a certificate, and the limitations imposed on the holder of a certificate vary according to the type of certificate involved. (Secs. 61.61--61.183). Sec. 61.73(a)(1) expressly prohibits the holder of a student pilot certificate from acting as pilot in command of an aircraft that is carrying a passenger. The student pilot certificate which was...
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...for adopting the insured's interpretation only apply where the contract language is ambiguous. Mang v. Travelers Ins. Co., 412 S.W.2d 672, 674 (Tex.Civ.App.1967, writ ref'd). A contract is only ambiguous if it is susceptible to two or more reasonable interpretations. See Glover v. Nat'l Ins......
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