Aviation crashes that occur on the high seas are subject to unique aspects of maritime law that must be carefully considered when prosecuting the case. This article will focus on one important maritime statute: the Death on the High Seas Act, 46 U.S.C. §30301, et seq. (DOHSA), including its all-important Commercial Aviation Exception. This article will also analyze two unresolved procedural issues in DOHSA cases: whether and when they are removable to federal court and whether a DOHSA plaintiff has a right to a jury trial.

What Is DOHSA and When Is It Applicable?

When a fatal aviation crash occurs on the "high seas," i.e., three nautical miles from the shores of the United States, claims stemming from that crash are governed by DOHSA. See Zicherman v. Korean Air Lines, 516 U.S. 217, 231, 116 S. Ct. 629, 113 L. Ed. 2d 596 (1996). Under maritime common law, there was historically no cause of action for wrongful death, and because state wrongful death statutes only applied within each states' territorial jurisdiction, there was no remedy for beneficiaries who lost a loved one on the high seas. After the Titanic disaster in 1911, Congress enacted DOHSA to provide a uniform remedy for such losses. DOHSA's remedy is therefore exclusive and cannot be supplemented by general maritime law or other state law claims when it applies. See Offshore Logistics v. Tallentire, 477 U.S. 207, 232, 106 S. Ct. 2485, 91 L. Ed. 2d 174 (1986); Mobil Oil v. Higginbotham, 436 U.S. 618, 622–26 (1978).