A microgravity flight company says its insurer would not pause the clock on a $7 million claim - so it sued to protect its rights.
Zero Gravity Corporation, known for weightless-flight experiences flown for partners including NASA and the US Space Force, sued its aviation insurer, Starr, on July 6, 2026 in federal court in Alabama. The twist: this is not a denied claim. According to the complaint, both sides still treat the claim as open. Zero-G filed anyway, to keep a contract deadline from ending its right to sue later.
The trouble began during maintenance. Zero-G says it delivered its Boeing 727-200 to a maintenance contractor in Dothan, Alabama, for a routine deep inspection known as a C-check on or about July 1, 2025. Days later, on or about July 6, the contractor's workers improperly reinstalled an exhaust duct for the auxiliary power unit, the complaint says, and a later pressurization check sent extremely hot exhaust into the wheel well, causing significant structural damage to the right wing. Zero-G alleges the contractor "concealed the damage" for about nineteen days, and that it did not find out until on or about July 25. Zero-G has separately sued the contractor; that company is not a defendant in this insurance case.
The plane is insured for $7 million, with a $150,000 deductible. An independent inspection points to a likely total loss, the filing says, and Boeing must approve any repair - a process that has been slow.
Here is the squeeze. The policy's Section 7, "Action Against the Company and Payment of Loss," gives 60 days to file proof of loss and requires any suit to be filed within twelve months of the loss. Zero-G says it cannot finalize proof of loss until Boeing rules, yet the twelve-month clock from July 6, 2025 keeps ticking. It asked Starr to pause that deadline. Starr refused, according to the complaint.
Zero-G says Starr had already opened a claim and agreed in writing that the wait would not "waive, forfeit, or otherwise prejudice" coverage. Its argument: an insurer should not invite an investigation and then use its length to run out the clock. Zero-G wants the deadline paused and its rights preserved, or damages if Starr later balks.
None of the allegations have been tested, and no court has ruled.
