84 F.2d 755 (9th Cir. 1936)
Hinman v. Pacific Air Transport is a seminal Ninth Circuit decision at the dawn of commercial aviation that recalibrated common-law property rights in light of technological change.
Does a landowner own the airspace above the surface to such an extent that aircraft flying overhead commit a trespass, or, instead, are overflights actionable only if they amount to a nuisance by substantially interfering with the owner's use and enjoyment of the land?
A landowner does not own an unlimited column of air above the surface. The owner's property interest extends only to so much of the airspace as the owner can occupy or use in connection with the land. Accordingly, mere overflight at heights that do not interfere with the ordinary use and enjoyment of the land is not a trespass; however, flights that are so low, frequent, or disruptive as to cause substantial interference may constitute a nuisance and support damages or equitable relief.
The court rejected the literal ad coelum doctrine and held that overflights at reasonable altitudes are not trespasses. Nevertheless, the complaint stated a cognizable claim sounding in nuisance to the extent the alleged low and disruptive flights substantially interfered with plaintiffs' use and enjoyment of their land. The case could proceed on a nuisance theory rather than trespass.
Hinman is a cornerstone of American airspace law. It (1) rejects the literal ad coelum doctrine, (2) clarifies that overflight liability typically sounds in nuisance, not trespass, and (3) supplies the functional "use-and-occupancy" approach to airspace that later evolved into the "immediate reaches" concept embraced by the Supreme Court in United States v. Causby. The case is frequently taught for its method of adapting common-law property principles to technological change and for its enduring influence on contemporary issues, including airport siting, noise litigation, and drone operations.