I can tell of at least 2 instances where private airports have been sold,
torn up for farming and even after proper notification, they still remained
on the charts for very long periods of time! One for 3 years! When asked
about this, one official told me that he got no letter from the former
airport owner saying that it was closed and sold. When I told them that this
fellow had died and had NO LIVING heirs, I was told, sorry I can not remove
it without authorization. What a crock of sh-t!!!!!! I had to have several
letters written by the estate executor 3 years after the estate was settled,
to get this strip removed. By the way, a glider at a local contest landed in
the new farmers hayfield, he got out and thought "what a nice place for an
airstrip" He looked around and found the old hanger building with the
airport name still on it. We sent the trailer for him!!!!!!

"BTIZ" wrote in message
news:mDWde.9774$fI.2464@fed1read05...
I am not a lawyer or the police, but I remember reading a similar article,
maybe in the SSA Magazine.

I believe you are correct about the "Safe harbor" law... you are either
going to land safely on their runway or hayfield.. or crash land somewhere
else and risk personal injury.

I do not believe he can detain you.. If he detains you.. he can be charged
with false imprisonment. He can call the constabulary and request a charge
of trespass be made.. that charge may not hold up in court.

He can reasonably expect that costs will be covered for damaged crops
caused
by landing or retrieving the glider, or damage to a fence that may have
been
cut be properly repaired. If he demands to keep the glider as collateral
for
damages, then he assumes all responsibility for your $100,000 glider in
event it is damaged while in his care. Politely inform him of that and ask
if he is willing to sign a receipt for your $100,000 glider, on his
possible
$2000 crop damage.

You do not have to leave him your trailer to keep your glider in nor the
support or tie down. He needs to make room in his barn/garage/shed to
reasonably care for your glider as you would. Granted, the prudent owner
would want his glider in the glider box.

If he does chose to detain you or try to prevent you from retrieving your
glider to keep it safe, then you should call for the local constabulary.
Remember, barn animals: horses, cows, steers, sheep tend to like white
fiberglass gliders. Any time he prevents you from sheltering your
equipment,
he assumes responsibility for safe keeping of same.

Many pilots carry an extra chain lock in their trailer, so if a gate chain
needs to be cut to get a glider out of a field, cut a chain link, not the
lock, and put your new lock in the chain. The chain now has two locks, one
the owner can open. If you are able to contact the owner, send them the
key,
and offer to replace the chain.

As for old closed runways that are no longer serviceable still on charts
...
until someone tells the FAA chart makers that the runway is gone.. it
stays
on the charts. Some runways, even private ones, are there for
"navigational
purposes", especially in remote areas where the runway is the only major
man
made landmark.

Lets both do a search in SSA and "Google" and see what we can come up
with.

BT

"2NO" wrote in message
ps.com...
There was a discussion about this last year, and I'm sure it comes up
regularly, but I'd like to get some feedback from pilots with both
legal and practical experience regarding one's rights (if any) upon
making an emergency landing on private property in the USA.

My aroused curiosity stems from this quote from an FAA contact
regarding private airports on FAA sectionals: "Please note that private
use airports in the FAA's National Airspace System are for the use of
the owner only or with the permission of the owner only. Other users
are not authorized and should not be attempting to land at private use
airports." This made me wonder why the FAA even puts them on their
charts at all, and why they often remain there long after the "airport"
has turned into a landfill or housing development. But I digress ...

If I make an emergency landing on private property (regardless of
whether it's an airport), does the owner have the legal right to detain
me? I seem to recall in a previous discussion a reference to something
like a "safe harbor" law that permits persons, such as lost hikers, to
take refuge in private property in order to escape danger (bad weather,
etc), and that this law has been applied to aviators who had to put
down somewhere. If this is true, I'd like to learn the details, should
I ever end up in such a predicament...

TW