MEAD, J.
[¶ 1] The City of Lewiston appeals from an order of the Superior Court (An-droscoggin County, Delahanty, J.) denying its motion for summary judgment in a wrongful death suit brought by the estates of three Lewiston High School students who died in a 2006 plane crash while attending an Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC) summer program sponsored by the school. The City’s interlocutory appeal is not barred by the final judgment rule because the City raises a claim of immunity pursuant to the Maine Tort Claims Act (MTCA), 14 M.R.S. §§ 8101-8118 (2009). See Wilcox v. City of Portland, 2009 ME 53, ¶ 11, 970 A.2d 295, 297-98 (discussing immunity exception to the final judgment rule).1 Because we agree that the MTCA did not act to remove the City’s immunity on these facts, we vacate the order and remand for entry of a summary judgment in favor of the City.
I. BACKGROUND
[¶ 2] The following facts are contained in the summary judgment record, viewed in the light most favorable to the three estate plaintiffs (Estates) as the nonmov-ing parties. See Tarbox v. Blaisdell, 2009 ME 123, ¶ 2, 984 A.2d 1273, 1275. Shannon Fortier, Nicholas Babcock, and Teisha Loesburg were students at Lewiston High School (LHS), and were also cadets in the school’s AFJROTC program. The AFJROTC program is part of the school curriculum, and the principal of LHS has overall responsibility for its operation. The program is commanded by a retired Air Force officer, in this ease Lieutenant Colonel (ret.) Robert Meyer, a career Air Force pilot. In his capacity as Senior Aerospace Science Instructor at LHS, Meyer was an employee of the City of Lewiston at the time of the accident at issue in these suits.
[¶ 3] In June 2006, Shannon, Nicholas, and Teisha attended an AFJROTC one-week summer leadership school. As part of the curriculum, on June 22 they and other cadets participated in orientation flights that Meyer had arranged using an FAA-certified aircraft provided by Twin Cities Air Services (Twin Cities), which operated a flight school at the Lewiston-Auburn airport. The aircraft was piloted by Charlie Weir, an FAA-certified flight instructor and Twin Cities employee.
[86]*86[¶ 4] Viewing the record in the light most favorable to the Estates, before the ill-fated flight took off, Meyer had information that Weir had performed reckless, unsafe maneuvers on other flights, including the flight he piloted immediately preceding the one leading to this suit. Meyer also observed Weir make a landing that he described as unusual. Notwithstanding this information, Meyer allowed the three students to board the flight. The aircraft crashed into Barker Mountain, killing all aboard.
[¶ 5] Fortier’s estate filed a wrongful death suit against Twin Cities and the Lewiston School Department. The estates of Babcock and Loesburg filed suit against the Lewiston School Department and the City of Lewiston, which in turn filed a third-party complaint against Twin Cities. One of the theories advanced by the Estates was that Meyer acted negligently in failing to prevent the three students from flying with Weir, given his expertise as a former Air Force pilot and his knowledge of Weir’s unsafe flying. The Superior Court consolidated the cases, and later entered an order removing the Lewiston School Department from the suit upon ruling that the City was the proper party. The Babcock and Loesburg estates eventually settled with Twin Cities.
[¶ 6] On March 20, 2009, the City moved for summary judgment, asserting that it was immune from suit pursuant to the MTCA because (1) it was not “using” the Twin Cities aircraft within the meaning of 14 M.R.S. § 8104-A(1)(D) at the time of the crash, and (2) Meyer was performing a discretionary function2 when he made the decision to allow the three students to fly with Weir. The court held a hearing and later denied the motion in a written decision, rejecting both arguments advanced by the City in support of its immunity claim. This appeal followed.
II. DISCUSSION
[¶ 7] The MTCA states the general rule that “all governmental entities3 shall be immune from suit on any and all tort claims seeking recovery of damages.” 14 M.R.S. § 8103(1). Exceptions to the general rule are set out in 14 M.R.S. § 8104-A. The exception at issue here provides that:
Except as specified in section 8104-B, a governmental entity is liable for property damage, bodily injury or death in the following instances.
1. Ownership; maintenance or use of vehicles, machinery and equipment. A governmental entity is liable for its negligent acts or omissions in its ownership, maintenance or use of any:
[87]*87D. Aircraft, as defined in Title 6, section 8, subsection 5.
14 M.R.S. § 8104-A (2009).
[¶ 8] In construing section 8104-A, we recognize that “the MTCA employs an exception-to-immunity approach rather than an exception-to-liability approach.” Thompson v. Dep’t of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, 2002 ME 78, ¶ 5, 796 A.2d 674, 676 (quotation marks omitted). Accordingly, our analysis “start[s] from the premise that immunity is the rule and exceptions to immunity are to be strictly construed.” Id. (quotation marks omitted).
[¶ 9] The Superior Court denied the City’s motion for summary judgment after finding that the application of a “plain and common meaning” of the word “use” made it “arguable that the School Department’s hiring of an independent contractor to perform orientation flights constituted use, albeit indirect use, of an aircraft within the meaning of the MTCA.” The trial court’s denial of a motion for summary judgment seeking immunity is reviewed for errors of law. Jorgensen v. Dep’t of Transp., 2009 ME 42, ¶ 12, 969 A.2d 912, 916.
[¶ 10] The threshold and ultimately dispositive question of statutory interpretation before us is whether the City was “using” the Twin Cities aircraft within the meaning of the MTCA when it crashed. If so, then further analysis is required; if not, then section 8103(1) declares that the City is immune from suit and ends our inquiry. The first step in answering this threshold question is to recognize that the issue of whether Meyer should have prevented the three students from flying with Weir is relevant to a determination of whether Meyer acted negligently, but irrelevant to the separate question of whether the City was “using” the aircraft in the first instance. When the students’ flight took off, the City was either “using” the Twin Cities plane within the meaning of section 8104-A(1)(D) or it was not, regardless of anything Meyer did or failed to do. Accordingly, we set aside any consideration of Meyer’s actions and examine de novo what the Legislature meant when it said that “[a] governmental entity is liable for its negligent acts or omissions in its ownership, maintenance or use of any ... [a]ircraft.” 14 M.R.S. § 8104-A(1)(D) (emphasis added); see Morrill v. Me. Tpk. Auth., 2009 ME 116, ¶ 5, 983 A.2d 1065, 1067 (stating that the interpretation of a statute is a question of law reviewed de novo, and that “[t]he underlying purpose of statutory interpretation is to give effect to the intent of the Legislature” (quotation marks omitted)).
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MEAD, J.
[¶ 1] The City of Lewiston appeals from an order of the Superior Court (An-droscoggin County, Delahanty, J.) denying its motion for summary judgment in a wrongful death suit brought by the estates of three Lewiston High School students who died in a 2006 plane crash while attending an Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC) summer program sponsored by the school. The City’s interlocutory appeal is not barred by the final judgment rule because the City raises a claim of immunity pursuant to the Maine Tort Claims Act (MTCA), 14 M.R.S. §§ 8101-8118 (2009). See Wilcox v. City of Portland, 2009 ME 53, ¶ 11, 970 A.2d 295, 297-98 (discussing immunity exception to the final judgment rule).1 Because we agree that the MTCA did not act to remove the City’s immunity on these facts, we vacate the order and remand for entry of a summary judgment in favor of the City.
I. BACKGROUND
[¶ 2] The following facts are contained in the summary judgment record, viewed in the light most favorable to the three estate plaintiffs (Estates) as the nonmov-ing parties. See Tarbox v. Blaisdell, 2009 ME 123, ¶ 2, 984 A.2d 1273, 1275. Shannon Fortier, Nicholas Babcock, and Teisha Loesburg were students at Lewiston High School (LHS), and were also cadets in the school’s AFJROTC program. The AFJROTC program is part of the school curriculum, and the principal of LHS has overall responsibility for its operation. The program is commanded by a retired Air Force officer, in this ease Lieutenant Colonel (ret.) Robert Meyer, a career Air Force pilot. In his capacity as Senior Aerospace Science Instructor at LHS, Meyer was an employee of the City of Lewiston at the time of the accident at issue in these suits.
[¶ 3] In June 2006, Shannon, Nicholas, and Teisha attended an AFJROTC one-week summer leadership school. As part of the curriculum, on June 22 they and other cadets participated in orientation flights that Meyer had arranged using an FAA-certified aircraft provided by Twin Cities Air Services (Twin Cities), which operated a flight school at the Lewiston-Auburn airport. The aircraft was piloted by Charlie Weir, an FAA-certified flight instructor and Twin Cities employee.
[86]*86[¶ 4] Viewing the record in the light most favorable to the Estates, before the ill-fated flight took off, Meyer had information that Weir had performed reckless, unsafe maneuvers on other flights, including the flight he piloted immediately preceding the one leading to this suit. Meyer also observed Weir make a landing that he described as unusual. Notwithstanding this information, Meyer allowed the three students to board the flight. The aircraft crashed into Barker Mountain, killing all aboard.
[¶ 5] Fortier’s estate filed a wrongful death suit against Twin Cities and the Lewiston School Department. The estates of Babcock and Loesburg filed suit against the Lewiston School Department and the City of Lewiston, which in turn filed a third-party complaint against Twin Cities. One of the theories advanced by the Estates was that Meyer acted negligently in failing to prevent the three students from flying with Weir, given his expertise as a former Air Force pilot and his knowledge of Weir’s unsafe flying. The Superior Court consolidated the cases, and later entered an order removing the Lewiston School Department from the suit upon ruling that the City was the proper party. The Babcock and Loesburg estates eventually settled with Twin Cities.
[¶ 6] On March 20, 2009, the City moved for summary judgment, asserting that it was immune from suit pursuant to the MTCA because (1) it was not “using” the Twin Cities aircraft within the meaning of 14 M.R.S. § 8104-A(1)(D) at the time of the crash, and (2) Meyer was performing a discretionary function2 when he made the decision to allow the three students to fly with Weir. The court held a hearing and later denied the motion in a written decision, rejecting both arguments advanced by the City in support of its immunity claim. This appeal followed.
II. DISCUSSION
[¶ 7] The MTCA states the general rule that “all governmental entities3 shall be immune from suit on any and all tort claims seeking recovery of damages.” 14 M.R.S. § 8103(1). Exceptions to the general rule are set out in 14 M.R.S. § 8104-A. The exception at issue here provides that:
Except as specified in section 8104-B, a governmental entity is liable for property damage, bodily injury or death in the following instances.
1. Ownership; maintenance or use of vehicles, machinery and equipment. A governmental entity is liable for its negligent acts or omissions in its ownership, maintenance or use of any:
[87]*87D. Aircraft, as defined in Title 6, section 8, subsection 5.
14 M.R.S. § 8104-A (2009).
[¶ 8] In construing section 8104-A, we recognize that “the MTCA employs an exception-to-immunity approach rather than an exception-to-liability approach.” Thompson v. Dep’t of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, 2002 ME 78, ¶ 5, 796 A.2d 674, 676 (quotation marks omitted). Accordingly, our analysis “start[s] from the premise that immunity is the rule and exceptions to immunity are to be strictly construed.” Id. (quotation marks omitted).
[¶ 9] The Superior Court denied the City’s motion for summary judgment after finding that the application of a “plain and common meaning” of the word “use” made it “arguable that the School Department’s hiring of an independent contractor to perform orientation flights constituted use, albeit indirect use, of an aircraft within the meaning of the MTCA.” The trial court’s denial of a motion for summary judgment seeking immunity is reviewed for errors of law. Jorgensen v. Dep’t of Transp., 2009 ME 42, ¶ 12, 969 A.2d 912, 916.
[¶ 10] The threshold and ultimately dispositive question of statutory interpretation before us is whether the City was “using” the Twin Cities aircraft within the meaning of the MTCA when it crashed. If so, then further analysis is required; if not, then section 8103(1) declares that the City is immune from suit and ends our inquiry. The first step in answering this threshold question is to recognize that the issue of whether Meyer should have prevented the three students from flying with Weir is relevant to a determination of whether Meyer acted negligently, but irrelevant to the separate question of whether the City was “using” the aircraft in the first instance. When the students’ flight took off, the City was either “using” the Twin Cities plane within the meaning of section 8104-A(1)(D) or it was not, regardless of anything Meyer did or failed to do. Accordingly, we set aside any consideration of Meyer’s actions and examine de novo what the Legislature meant when it said that “[a] governmental entity is liable for its negligent acts or omissions in its ownership, maintenance or use of any ... [a]ircraft.” 14 M.R.S. § 8104-A(1)(D) (emphasis added); see Morrill v. Me. Tpk. Auth., 2009 ME 116, ¶ 5, 983 A.2d 1065, 1067 (stating that the interpretation of a statute is a question of law reviewed de novo, and that “[t]he underlying purpose of statutory interpretation is to give effect to the intent of the Legislature” (quotation marks omitted)).
[¶ 11] Although we have not previously addressed this precise question, the task of interpreting a statute is a familiar one that we undertake using well-established principles. We recently observed, “Statutory construction is a holistic process: we construe the whole statutory scheme of which the section at issue forms a part so that a harmonious result, presumably the intent of the Legislature, may be achieved.” McPhee v. Me. State Ret. Sys., 2009 ME 100, ¶ 23, 980 A.2d 1257, 1265 (quotation marks omitted). Although the Superior Court gave meaning to the word “use” in section 8104-A(1) by employing the definition found in Black’s Law Dictionary, we apply the principle of statutory construction just recited to illuminate the meaning of the word “use” by examining other language in the same section.
[¶ 12] Careful analysis of the key clause in section 8104-A(1)—“its ownership, maintenance or use”—provides the necessary illumination. The clause addresses three situations in which the Legislature has decided to waive a governmen[88]*88tal entity’s immunity for its negligent acts. The first two necessarily require positive control by the governmental entity involved. Only the governmental entity can have “ownership” of qualifying equipment.4 14 M.R.S. § 8104-A(1). Likewise, a governmental entity can only be liable for “its negligent acts or omissions” in “its ... maintenance” of equipment if its own employees perform the maintenance, or fail to perform it. Id. (emphasis added). If the entity does not perform the maintenance itself, then any negligent act is not its negligent act resulting from its deficient maintenance.5 In both instances the governmental entity exercises actual, physical control over the equipment — it owns it or its employees maintain it.
[¶ 13] It would make little sense for the Legislature to specify two categories of potential liability requiring actual control of equipment by a governmental entity and then make the “use” category so expansive as to include virtually any direct or indirect employment of motor vehicles, aircraft, watercraft, snowmobiles, or other equipment implicated by the statute, regardless of ownership and regardless of whether the governmental entity has any control over how the equipment is maintained or operated.
[¶ 14] That is, however, precisely what the Estates urge us to conclude. In their view, the City “used” the Twin Cities aircraft for MTCA purposes simply by paying for three seats on it, even though the City did not own or maintain the plane, or train, test, or employ its pilot. Logically, the same conclusion would result from the City’s purchase of three seats on a commercial airline flight,6 or from the City’s use of a private ferry for seaborne transportation. The Estates’ attempt to obscure this inescapable result and its implications 7 by conflating the question of the City’s “use” of the aircraft with the ques[89]*89tion of Meyer’s alleged negligence is, as we have explained, unavailing. They are two separate and distinct questions, and the use question must be answered first.8
[¶ 15] Given the more restrictive meanings of “ownership” and “maintenance” in the same clause, and our obligation to strictly construe exceptions to immunity, we hold that, in providing for liability resulting from negligence in the “use of any ... [ajircraft,” 14 M.R.S. § 8104-A(1)(D), the Legislature intended to waive immunity in situations where a governmental entity has some measure of direct control over the aircraft or its pilot. Obvious examples would include situations where Maine Warden Service or Maine State Police aircraft are flown by wardens or troopers. Other qualifying scenarios may be possible, and we do not today attempt to define the precise limits of what is covered by the section 8104-A(1)(D) exception. Given that the City had no direct control over the Twin Cities aircraft or its pilot, the exception is not applicable in the case at bar. Accordingly, the general rule of section 8103(1) controls and declares that the City is immune from the Estates’ suits.
[¶ 16] Because we conclude that section 8104-A(1) does not act to remove the City’s immunity from suit, we do not reach the City’s argument that it is also immune because Meyer was performing a discretionary function. See 14 M.R.S. § 8104-B(3).
The entry is:
Order denying motion for summary judgment vacated. Remanded for entry of summary judgment for the City of Lewi-ston.