There have been a lot of responses to my original post, but very little
addressing the legalities.

I was shooting some clay birds with a lawyer yesterday, and I asked him
about the applicable law. He knows nothing about aviation law, and the
matter
of rights to make a forced landing, but he could comment on the trespass.
He said that there are two kinds of trespass,
criminal and civil. In this instance, as evidenced by the call to the
Sheriff,
there was no criminal intent, and hence there was no
criminal trespass. However, as we broke the chain, there is a case for
civil trespass. For this, the land owner is entitled to be compensated for
his "damages". As it was pasture, there was no crop damage. He suffered
only
the loss of one link in a three foot chain, and his time.

It was legal information I was looking for, and the trespass issue seems
fairly simple.
I am still looking for information on the legalities of the forced landing,
but the courtesy
advice is well taken by all of us who fly X/C.


"Charles Petersen" wrote in message
...
We had two landouts at Seminole yesterday, both in the same field, - a
pasture with cattle and a locked gate. One of the pilots visited a nearby
farmhouse, and spoke with the wife of the property owner asking permission
to enter and a key. She was very nice and called her son. He agreed to
call back on the pilots cell phone. The Sheriff was also called and did
not
call back. An hour later, with both trailers at the gate, we called the
Sheriff again and advised that we intended to cut a link in the chain, and
replace it with a padlock when we left, and mail the key to the owner.
This
would leave his field secure, and there was no damage. The Sheriff's
office
made it clear they were not giving permission, and the retrieve crew made
it
clear they were not asking for permission, merely advising the Sheriff of
their intentions, citing the approaching sunset and $220,000 of aircraft
in
a field with cattle. A bolt cutter gave entry, and we commenced
derigging,
leaving our most charming crew member at the gate. Both the son of the
owner and the Sheriff arrived. The son was extremely upset, insisting
that
charges be laid. The Sheriff, seemingly somewhat reluctantly,
fingerprinted
both pilots and wrote up a proposal for charges, which he said would be
presented to the public attorney to decide whether to proceed. Nothing
further has been heard, and we hope / believe nothing further will be
heard.

My question is: - what is the law governing a landout on private property?
What are the rights of the pilot and of the property owner? Where are
these
rights codified? The Sheriff said if we had done the same thing after he
arrived, he would not have laid charges. He did not charge the retrieve
crew with breaking and entering or trespassing. What about the crew
situation?

BTW, all concerned did act as 'ambassadors of the sport', but the son was
implacable.