A recent Second Department decision, Fabia v. Power Authority of the State of New York (March 18, 2026), is worth close attention for attorneys, carriers, and claims professionals handling New York construction accident litigation involving aircraft-related work. The case arose from an accident during power-line repair operations in which a helicopter came into contact with power lines, caught fire, and crashed. The plaintiff, a co-pilot on the helicopter, asserted claims for common-law negligence and violations of Labor Law §§ 200, 240(1), and 241(6).

The Second Department held that the Labor Law §§ 240(1) and 241(6) claims were preempted by federal aviation law and properly dismissed. The Court reasoned that those statutes impose strict or nondelegable state law duties that conflict with the federal regulatory framework governing aircraft operation and air safety.

At the same time, the Court held that the plaintiff's negligence claims would proceed with the federal aviation standard of care substituted for the ordinary New York negligence standard. In practical terms, the decision preserves a narrower negligence-based theory while foreclosing reliance on New York's strict Labor Law provisions where the claim is inseparable from aircraft operation or design.

What makes the decision particularly significant is the Second Department's focus on the actual role of the plaintiff and the nature of the alleged safety failure. The plaintiff was not merely working near the aircraft. He was inside the helicopter, co-piloting it at the time of the accident, and the allegedly inadequate safety device was the helicopter itself. That factual posture led the Court to conclude that the claims necessarily implicated aircraft operation and design, placing them within the scope of federal aviation preemption.

For defense counsel and claims professionals, Fabia offers a strong appellate framework for challenging Labor Law §§ 240(1) and 241(6) claims in aviation-related construction and repair cases. It also provides useful guidance for narrowing surviving negligence claims by shifting the analysis away from ordinary New York standards and toward the governing federal aviation rules.