Transportation Accident Investigations: Are You Prepared?

With more than three decades of transportation law experience, Dane Jaques represents clients in high-profile matters involving National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident response, pipeline safety, transportation regulation, aviation law, litigation, appeals, and administrative proceedings. Dane makes it a priority to collaborate closely with clients from the onset, to alleviate common problems in the post-accident environment. He regularly handles air carrier, general aviation, and pipeline accident investigations conducted by NTSB, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the US Chemical Safety Board, and many foreign accident investigation authorities. Dane’s transportation clients also rely on his litigation prowess in various tort and business litigation pending in state courts, federal courts, and before the FAA, Transportation Security Administration (TSA), NTSB, PHMSA, and other US administrative agencies. Dane has represented transportation clients in more than 30 transportation safety investigations in all modes of transportation. He also conducts corporate investigations and handles FAA and TSA enforcement actions against aviation concerns and their employees. Dane is also head of Steptoe’s autonomous vehicles initiative.

As a former FAR Part 135 Captain and flight instructor with more than 3,000 flight hours, Dane’s clients benefit from his first-hand knowledge and 360 degree perspective of the aviation industry. He frequently speaks on disaster response, NTSB, FAA, and PHMSA regulatory matters, as well as Unmanned Aircraft Systems. He co-founded and operated several small businesses, including a flight school and an insurance claim service. He also founded a charity, the Catastrophic Illness Assistance Foundation, and served as its first General Counsel.

Over the past 35 years Chris held various legal and management positions in government, private legal practice, and in corporations. He currently works as a counsel and consultant, primarily dealing with compliance and incident response matters. Much of his experience is in the energy industry, specifically with pipelines, refineries and terminal operations where, among other activities, he helps clients deal with regulatory compliance matters as well as spills and other incidents, dealing with EPA, OSHA, PHMSA/DOT/ICA, NTSB, and other agencies and regulatory programs.

Prior to entering private law practice (1996-2013), he was in-house counsel for Sun Company and Sun Pipe Line Company, and served as Environmental Department Manager, Sun Company, Tulsa Refinery. He had previously served on active duty as a U.S. Army JAGC lawyer with the Seventh Infantry Division, where he also served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of California. Most recently he served as General Counsel for Blueknight Energy Partners and for Gulf Oil LP. He is a graduate of the Marshall-Wythe School of Law, College of William and Mary and Dickinson College. 

He has been a frequent speaker on various topics during his career. A list of publications and presentations is available upon request addressed to capaulesq@gmail.com.