National Union Fire Insurance v. Zuver

This is a declaratory judgment action to determine insurance coverage under an aviation policy. The insured was a pilot with a visual flight rating who crashed under weather conditions normally requiring an instrument flight rating.

Phillip E. Strathy took off at approximately 11:20 a.m. on June 19, 1983, in his private Piper Cherokee airplane. His passengers included his three daughters and a friend, Thomas Zuver. Strathy departed from Martha Lake on a route to Eastern Washington which would take him over the Cascade Mountains. Prior to takeoff Strathy telephoned the Federal Aeronautics…