With ongoing advances in aviation automation and autonomous flight there is a need to reconsider related legal and regulatory frameworks. The UK Civil Aviation Authority, in conjunction with the Law Commission of England and Wales, is undertaking a three-year review of existing liability models relating to the future of flight modes including electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL), drones, novel air traffic management and air navigation services to uncrewed aircraft. A final report is scheduled to be published in early 2026. Included in the review are current mechanisms for attributing criminal and civil liability. In particular, the Law Commission is considering (i) where the law allocates responsibilities to a human (e.g. a pilot) and the issues that arise if functions are performed by autonomous systems and (ii) how to allocate civil and criminal responsibility where functions are performed by a system or shared between a human and a system. Meanwhile, in its general Discussion Paper ('AI and the Law') published in July 2025, the Law Commission, in provoking debate, suggested that the option of granting some AI systems legal personality is increasingly likely to be considered. One key objection against that argument is that AI systems might be used as 'liability shields' protecting those at fault from criminal and/or civil accountability. In the field of aviation, where safety, responsibility and accountability are paramount, we predict any such future proposals will be met with strong resistance.