Article 122. The transportation of mail by air shall be made by aircraft owned by the State or, if need be, by aircraft of Argentine registry.

Article 123. The provisions of law pertaining to the mails shall apply, where pertinent, to mail transported by air.

Article 124. The operators of air transportation services shall carry such mail as may be assigned to them in accordance with the regulations in force.

The order of priority for postal shipments delivered to such carriers for shipment shall be according to the following schedule: 1) passenger, 2) postal shipments, 3) baggage, and 4) freight.

TITLE IX-SEARCH, AID, AND RESCUE

Article 125. Upon request by the competent authority, any owner of an aircraft shall be under a duty in so far as he is able to render aid in the search for aircraft.

Article 126. The commander of an aircraft in flight shall render the following assistance:

1. Aid to other aircraft in flight which find themselves in a situation of imminent danger;

2. Rescue of persons in danger because of damage sustained by the aircraft transporting them.

Article 127. There shall be no duty to render assistance when any of the following circumstances occur: when aid is better assured from other sources; when rendering such aid would greatly endanger persons on board the aircraft, or when there is no possibility of rendering useful aid.

Article 128. If aid was rendered without the existence of a duty to do so, the operator of the aircraft shall have a right to compensation only when he has saved, or helped to save some person.

Article 129. Aircraft which only rendered aid to another aircraft or which participated in the search mentioned in Article 125, shall have a right to be reimbursed for expenses arising therefrom and for damage sustained during the operation or as a direct consequence thereof.

Article 130. The operator of an aircraft which saved some person shall have a right to reimbursement for the costs incurred by such rescue and for damage sustained during the operations or as a direct consequence thereof."

The reimbursement shall be the responsibility of the operator of the aircraft aided and may not exceed the value of the aircraft immediately preceding the accident.

Article 131. Operators of aircraft which salvaged some property shall be entitled to compensation, paid to them according to the risks involved and the expenses and damages sustained by the rescuer, the difficulties of the rescue work, and the danger incurred by the rescued and the value of the property saved.

Payment of the compensation which in no event may exceed the value of the property saved, shall be made by the owners thereof in proportion to the value, and the rescuer may claim directly from the

The Spanish text read "socorrido" meaning "rescued". This may be an error, and the word should be "salvador" (rescuer).

operator of the aircraft assisted, or from each of the proprietors thereof.

Article 132. If both persons and property have been rescued, the one who has rescued the persons shall have a right to an equitable share of the compensation made to the one who has saved the property, without impairing any right to reimbursement he may have.

Article 133. Reimbursement and compensation shall be due even though aircraft may belong to the same owner.

TITLE X-LIABILITY

Chapter I-Damages Sustained by Passengers or Goods Being Transported

Article 134. A carrier shall be liable for any damages or losses caused by the death, injury or any other physical detriment sustained by a passenger, when the accident which caused the damage took place on board an aircraft or while boarding or disembarking from it.

Article 135. A carrier shall be liable for any damages or losses suffered by destruction, loss, or damage to baggage that has been checked and to goods when the event causing the damage took place during the air transportation.

Air transportation for purposes of the last paragraph shall include the period during which the baggage or goods are in the custody of the carrier whether on an airport or on board an aircraft or at some other place if the landing is made at a place other than at an airport. The period of air transportation shall not include transportation on the ground, by sea, or in navigable waters when such transportation takes place outside of an airport, unless one of these types of transportation has been undertaken in pursuance of a contract for air transportation with the object of loading, delivering, or transferring the shipment. Unless there is proof to the contrary, it shall be presumed in those cases that the damage was sustained during the air transportation.

Article 136. A carrier shall be liable for damages arising from delays in transporting passengers, baggage, or goods.

Article 137. A carrier shall be liable for the negligence of persons under his control such as clerks, laborers, or servants while in the performance of an act connected with their employment.

A carrier shall not be liable if he can establish that the damage was the result of an excusable pilot error, in the operation of the aircraft or in navigation, and that in all other respects he, or the persons subject to his control, took adequate measures to avoid the damage, or that it was impossible for them to adopt such measures.

Such evidence shall be admissible even when it is shown that the damage resulted from a defect in the aircraft.

Article 138. The courts may absolve the carrier from any liability or reduce his liability if the injured party caused the damage or was a contributing cause thereof.

Article 139. With respect to the transportation of persons, the limit of liability of the carrier for each passenger shall be a sum of eighty thousand pesos in national currency, ($80,000). However, a higher limit may be established by an express agreement between the carrier and the passenger.

With respect to the transportation of goods and baggage, the limit of liability of the carrier shall be established on the basis of one hundred and fifty pesos in national currency ($150) for each kilogram gross weight and at the sum of three thousand pesos in national currency ($3,000) for each passenger, with the exception of a special declaration of interest in the delivery filed by the shipper at the time the parcels are delivered to the carrier and, if necessary, payment of an additional fee. In such case, the carrier shall be under a duty to pay the declared amount unless he can prove that the value of the shipment is less or that said sum is greater than the shipper's interest in the delivery.

With respect to articles remaining in the custody of the passenger, the liability shall be limited to one thousand five hundred pesos in national currency ($1,500) for each passenger.

Article 140. Any clause tending to exempt the carrier from liability or to set up a limit of liability which is less than that established in this chapter shall be void; but the nullity of such a clause shall not go to the essence of the contract which remains subject to the rules established above.

Article 141. A carrier shall not be entitled to take advantage of the provisions of this chapter excluding or limiting his liability when the damage resulted from his wrongdoing, or from the wrongdoing of any person subject to his control who was acting in the course of his employment.

Article 142. Absent proof to the contrary, acceptance by the consignee of baggage and goods without protest shall give rise to a presumption, that they were delivered in good condition and in conformity with the shipping bill [título del transporte].

Article 143. In the case of loss, the consignee shall file a claim with the carrier within a period of three days for baggage, and of ten days for goods counting from the day of the delivery. In the case of delay, the claim must be made within ten days following the date on which the baggage or goods should have been placed in the hands of the consignee.

Failure to file a claim within such time shall preclude any action against the carrier, except in the case of fraud on his part.

Article 144. If the trip which was intended has been interrupted or has not been made, a passenger, in the former instance, shall be entitled to reimbursement of the part of the purchase price which is proportionate to the part of the trip not completed and to payment of the ordinary costs of transportation and subsistence from the place of landing to the nearest place where the trip can be continued, and, in the latter instance, to the return of the price of the ticket.

Any passenger who fails to present himself or who arrives late to board the flight for which a ticket has been issued to him or who interrupts his trip, shall not be entitled to demand the return of all or part of the amount.

In the case that the aircraft departs with all seats taken, the competent authority shall order the return of the purchase price of the flight ticket, in whole or in part, and shall establish the requirements and conditions thereof.

Article 145. In the case of successive or combination hauls, each carrier shall be answerable for the subsequent carriers. These shall

be entitled to state on the bill of lading the conditions of the goods and in the absence of such statement it shall be presumed that they received them in good condition.

Article 146. In the case of successive or combination hauls, made partly by air and partly by some other means of transportation, the provisions of this Code shall apply only to air transportation.

Article 147. The parties may stipulate the conditions relative to other means of transportation, notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding article.

Article 148. Any loss sustained in case of jettisoning shall be borne by the aircraft, the freight and the cargo in proportion to their value.

Chapter II-Damages Caused to Third Parties on the Ground

Article 149. Any damages caused by an aircraft or by an object falling from an aircraft shall give rise to a right to recovery merely by proof of the fact that it was caused by one or the other.

The rule of the preceding paragraph shall apply from the moment when the aircraft, under its own power, begins to move in preparation for a flight until the moment when, after completion of the flight, the aircraft stops moving under its own power.

Article 150. The liability established by the preceding article shall attach to the operator of an aircraft. In the case that the name of the operator does not appear on the national register of aircraft, he shall be liable jointly with the owner.

Article 151. Any person who, without having the right to use an aircraft, uses it without the consent of the operator, shall be liable for any damage which may result. Any operator who does not take adequate measures to prevent unlawful use of his aircraft shall be liable jointly with the person causing the damage.

Article 152. Liability for damages to third parties may be precluded or diminished if the person who sustained the damage was the cause of it or a contributing cause thereof.

Article 153. The operator of an aircraft shall be liable with respect to each accident up to a total amount computed at the rate of one hundred and forty pesos in national currency ($140) for each kilogram of the weight of the aircraft. The weight of the aircraft shall include the total maximum load capacity as stated in the certificate of airworthiness.

However, the liability of the operator may not be less than one hundred and fifty thousand pesos in national currency ($150,000) nor more than one million two hundred thousand pesos in national currency ($1,200,000). One third of such amount shall be used for payment of the damage caused to property, and the remaining two thirds for the payment for injuries to persons, but in the latter case the compensation may not exceed one hundred thousand pesos in national currency ($100,000) for each person injured.

Article 154. If several persons have sustained damage in the same accident and the total amount due to be paid exceeds the limits provided in the preceding article, there shall be a proportionate reduction of the amount due to each person in order that the aforesaid total limits may not be exceeded.

Article 155. An operator shall not be entitled to take advantage of the provisions limiting his liability if the damage resulted from

his own wrongdoing or the wrongdoing of persons subject to his control, unless he can prove, with reference to such persons, that he took adequate measures to prevent the damage.

Chapter III-Damages Sustained When the Transportation is.

Gratuitous

Article 156. In the case of gratuitous transportation which is not rendered by an enterprise engaged in public transportation, the carrier's liability shall be limited to the sum of twenty thousand pesos in national currency ($20,000).

Article 157. The carrier may exempt himself from liability by a special express agreement with the passengers.

Article 158. The carrier shall not be liable if the circumstances set forth in Article 137 are present and if he proves that he and the persons subject to his control took adequate measures to prevent the damage or that it was impossible to take such measures.

Chapter IV-Damages to Persons and Property Aboard in Case of a Mid-air Collision

Article 159. By mid-air collision shall be understood any collision between two or more aircraft in flight.

Damages caused by one aircraft in flight to another aircraft in flight, or to persons or property on board, even if there is no collision, shall be considered to have resulted from a mid-air collision.

Article 160. If a mid-air collision is due to the fault of one of the aircraft, it shall be liable for the damages.

It shall not be liable under the circumstances recited in Article 137. In this respect, the limitations set forth in Article 141 shall apply. Article 161. If a mid-air collision is caused by concurrent negligence, the liability of each aircraft for the damages to such aircraft, and to the persons and property on board shall be in proportion to the degree of negligence.

If the proportionate degree of negligence cannot be determined, the liability shall be shared equally.

Article 162. The liability established in the preceding article shall be joint, but without impairing the right of a tortfeasor who has paid more than the amount for which he is liable to recoup from the other tortfeasor.

Article 163. No liability shall attach in the case of an unavoidable accident or of force majeure.

Chapter V-Damages to Third Parties on the Ground in the Case of Mid-air Collision

Article 164. In the case of damages caused to third parties on the ground by a mid-air collision between two or more aircraft, the operators of such aircraft shall be jointly liable within the purview of the preceding chapter to the persons sustaining such damage.

Article 165. If the mid-air collision was the result of the negligence of one of the aircraft, the aircraft which was not at fault shall have the right to recoup from the former the amount of damage payments which it was required to pay to the victims by reason of joint liability. If the negligence was concurrent, the aircraft which, by reason of joint liability, paid an amount in excess of its share, shall be entitled to recoup the excess from the other party.