Kenneth P. Quinn

Full Profile

Ken Quinn acts as litigation, regulatory, enforcement, antitrust, and corporate counsel to several domestic and international airlines, insurers, aerospace companies, lenders/lessors, private equity/hedge funds, advanced air mobility companies, airport developers, and other companies on aviation—related matters.

In a career spanning 30 years, Ken has handled some of the industry’s largest accidents, incidents, terrorist events, deals, cases, and matters. He served as General Counsel & Secretary of the Flight Safety Foundation for 25 years, as Chief Counsel of the US Federal Aviation Administration (1991-1993), counselor to the US Secretary of Transportation (1989-1991), and senior advisor to the US Office of the President-Elect (1988). He was named a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society in 1997, serves on the Board and as counsel of the RAeS DC Branch, and on the RAeS Membership Services Board in London, England, since 2012.

Ken has served on the Board (2012-2016) and as President of the International Aviation Club (2015-2016). He was Chair of the American Bar Association Forum on Air & Space Law (1994-1996), served on its Executive Committee (1994-2024), and was Editor-in-Chief of the ABA’s The Air & Space Lawyer publication for 13 years. He is on the Board of Governors of Army Navy CC, and the Northern Illinois University Foundation. He is 4th Degree Knights of Columbus, and a Patron of the Vatican Art Museums.

He is currently acting on behalf of insurers in connection with the DCA mid-air crash between an Army Black Hawk helicopter PAT 25 and American flight 5342. He is acting on behalf of Flexjet in connection with a near miss at MDW with a Southwest flight. He is working for two of the largest AAM companies, one of the largest airline holding companies, developers of professional football and basketball stadiums, corporate flight departments, MROs, flight schools, private equity on airline foreign ownership and control, and airlines on regulatory and enforcement matters.

He is representing Goldman Sachs and its subsidiary AvPorts on the private long-term lease of HVN airport and related NEPA litigation now pending in the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. He is representing AIA in connection with the development of an all-cargo, perishable goods airport accepted under the FAA Private Investment Partnership Program.

He represented the Kyoto-based lithium ion battery manufacturer on claims, investigations, insurance, and Paris ICC arbitration in connection with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner grounding; the airport security screening companies in 9/11; the cities of New York and Chicago on airport litigation, airport slots, and use/lease agreements; the Terminal One Group Association and airlines in connection with litigation and the $9.0B terminal development at JFK; major US airlines in litigation over airport access at DAL, Airbus purchase and sale agreements, customer litigation, class-action litigation, and contract of carriage matters.

Some of his other high-profile engagements have been representing foreign airlines over engine supplier shortages; airlines in acquisition, antitrust immunity requests, and regulatory compliance; commercial space and social media companies regarding international treaty and mishap matters; a large infrastructure fund in the first use of FAA’s private partnership program—LMM in San Juan, PR; Airbus in the crash of AA587.

He represented Virgin America to get its wings in DOT certification and DC Circuit litigation, which remains the seminal case in US “actual control” determinations. He represented the MRO, SabreTech, in connection with the historic criminal, civil, and enforcement cases following the crash of ValuJet 592.

He served as Chair of the DOT Secretary’s Task Force on Aviation Security & Intelligence following the
terrorist bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, and served as Vice Chair of the ICAO Task Force
on Safety Information Protection. He has represented industry CEOs and an FAA Administrator in
employment matters.

Admissions

• District of Columbia
• US Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
• US Courts of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
• US District Court, Northern District of Illinois 

Education

• J.D., with honors, DePaul University College of Law, 1985. Notes Editor, DePaul Law Review; Editor, A.S.I.L.S. International Law Journal.
• B.A., Finance, Northern Illinois University, 1982 

Memberships

• ABA
• Section of Antitrust Law
• Torts Trial and Insurance Practice Section
• Forum on Air & Space Law
• Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Experience 

Presentations

• Moderator, “Boardroom Conversation – Change Management Under the Microscope.” CAPA Airline Leader Summit – Grand Cayman Islands, April 2025
• Panelist, “Grand Debate.” IATA World Legal Symposium – Shanghai, China, February 2025
• Moderator, "Foreign Ownership and Control Restrictions in Light of the Inability of Airlines to do Cross Border M&A." Airline Economics – Dublin, Ireland, January 2025
• Moderator, "It Ain’t Easy Being Green: The Perils of Advertising Environmental Initiatives." ABA TIPS Aviation and Aerospace Law Conference: Reaching New Heights – Washington, DC, September 2024
• Panelist, “Global Regulatory Update.” McGill University Institute of Air & Space Law, Aviation Liability, Insurance and Finance Conference – Montreal, CA , September 2024
• Moderator, "Flying Through Turbulence: The Facts and Myths of Aviation Safety." Royal Aeronautical Society Roundtable Discussion – Washington, DC, August 2024
• Moderator, “Airline Competition and Consumer Protection.” Clyde & Co International Aviation & Aerospace Conference Series – London, England, May 2024
• Panelist, “Regulatory and Policy Insight.” Symposium on Air Accessibility and the Law – London, England, April 2024
• Moderator, “Legislative Updates and Outlook for 2024.” American Bar Association: Forum on Air & Space Law – Arlington, VA, March 2024
• Speaker, “New York City Bar Talk–Sustainability.“ New York City Bar Association– New York, NY, November 2023
• Panelist, “Products Liability: Aviation Accident Investigation and Litigation.“ Aviation Law Association of Australia and New Zealand - Sydney, Australia, May 2023
• Panelist, “Liability of Governments for Aviation Accidents and Acts of Terrorism.” PEOPIL/McGill - Paris, France, April 2023
• Moderator, “The Looming Pilot Shortage: Myth, Reality and Colgan Flight 3407.” American Bar Association Aviation Litigation Institute - Webinar, June 2022
• Moderator, “North American Developments.” CAPA Live, December 2021
• Moderator, “Critical Thinkers–Leading an Airline in 2021.” CAPA Live, March 2021
• Moderator, “Crisis Management and Ethics.” BELIEF Week 2021 Northern Illinois University (NIU) - March 2021
• Moderator, “International Operations in the Wake of COVID-19.” CAPA Live, January 2021
• Moderator, “Crisis Management.” Flight Safety Foundation, International Aviation Safety Summit - Taipei, Taiwan, November 2019
• Moderator, “Update on Products Liability Cases and a Case Study on Major Accident Litigation: Plaintiff and Defendant Strategies.” 12th Annual McGill Conference on Aviation Liability, Litigation & Finance - Montreal, Canada, October 2019
• Moderator, “Recent Developments in International Trade Affecting Aviation.” Aviation Working Group - New York, NY, October 2019
• Moderator, "Airline Partnerships, Alliances, Competition Law and Sustainability." CAPA Airline Leader's Summit - Dublin, Ireland, May 2019
• Moderator, "Where To: North America's Approach to Open Skies." CAPA 2019 Americas Aviation Summit - Denver, Colorado, March 2019
• Panelist, "Governance and Management: Hot Air, Cold Feet and High Stakes - Mock Airline Executive Crisis Meeting." Legal Symposium, International Air Transport Association ("IATA") - Rome, Italy, March 2019
• Moderator, "The Future of Airline Competition, Mergers, Alliances, Antitrust Immunity, and Entry." Legal Symposium, International Air Transport Association ("IATA") - Rome, Italy, March 2019
• Moderator, "Information Protection - Litigation Perspective." Flight Safety Foundation ('FSF") International Aviation Safety Summit - Seattle, Washington, November 2018
• Moderator, "The Protection of Safety Data, Safety Information and Related Sources." ICAO Regional Safety Management Symposium - Lima, Peru, April 2018
• Moderator, "The Great Debate: Is There a Future for Open Skies Agreements?" CAPA Americas Aviation Summit - Houston, Texas, April 2018
• Co-Panelist, "The Protection of Safety Data, Safety Information and Related Sources." ICAO Regional Safety Management Symposium - Lima, Peru, March 2018