Collector puzzled over seizure of his vintage war plane by customs agents

Birmingham news ^ | june 3 2009 | Anita Debro

[muddler]

A vintage airplane collector said Tuesday that government agents have impounded his rare 1952 military aircraft he imported from France last fall and are threatening to destroy the plane because of a missed step in bringing it into the country.

Also see

http://www.savetheskyraider.com/site/The_Details.html

[SkyDancer]

My dad removed the squat switches so the guns’ll fire on the ground (LOL ......)

[Paleo Conservative]

If you want on or off this aerospace ping list, please contact Paleo Conservative or phantomworker by Freep mail.

[dalereed]

If they touch one rivit onthat bird they should be executed!!!

[org.whodat]

What a crock, no one has threatened to destroy the damn thing. It really sound more like Mr. Business man thinks he is above the law. Fill out the forms pay the fines and ICE will release the plane. What is the reason for making a mountain out of a mole hill.

[Habibi]

ATF you say? So, why would the ATF be involved?

Alcohol - Hmmm. Unlikely there’d be any booze on the aircraft. Even from France it’d be just as easy to buy some wine at the local liquor store.

Tobacco - Nope.

Firearms - Well, there’s a possibility. As I recall there was/is some fairly formidable firepower on that aircraft. Do you suppose it is possible that there might be some fully automatic weapons (50 caliber perhaps) that came into the country aboard that aircraft. I have seen it happen before. In some cases, the only “deactivation” accomplished was boaring a hole in the barrel within an inch of the muzzle (hardly a permanent step, a chop saw resolves the issue). I kidded the guy that had the aircraft, about hunting prairie dogs with it (they were automatic fifty caliber weapons) out in western Nebraska. “You don’t suppose anyone would notice, do you? Nah.”. If one is foolish enough to rearm these weapons, it is a trivial matter to accomplish if you really really want to do it. Silly though, they are hideously expensive if you ever decided you were going to fire them.

Yeah, that’d be my guess. Otherwise I couldn’t imagine why the BATF would get involved. One would think it would be more of an FAA matter, unless there were some firearms involved. It seems that BATF is generally overwhelmed on most technical matters they are confronted with. There are some sharp guys and gals over there, but sadly the majority are not of a consistent “caliber”. ;-)

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

I dont think I have ever read about squat switches of FR before.LOL

[raygun]

Dunno 'bout that. According to the opinion rendered in U.S. vs Miller, the militia comprises all able bodied men 18-45 (<65 if previous regular full-time active duty experience) and members are expected to show up bearing weapons in common useage at the time.

Seems to me that you should be going to the range with that thing at least semi-annually so as to maintain proficiency.

On the other hand, there may be issues with respect to transportation of firearms, in that you have to be able to prove that transportation of such is explicitly for the purpose of either to or from the practice range.

You don't have the serial numbers filed off on that do ya? Might help to get a concealed carry permit too. Most states are in the "shall issue" category, so that shouldn't be all that much of a problem.

Not only that, but I'd guess you'd want to be current on all the AD's as that may be grounds for confiscation.

On the other hand, "conversion" to some putative purpose other than what may be commonly percieved might be good.

"Dear, he's cutting the lawn with that damn F-16 again!"

"What time is it?"

"Its 8:01 A.M."

"Damn. The cops said last time they don't have a case on violation of the noise ordinance between 8 A.M. and 10 P.M."

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

"Not in the article."

You must have missed this:

"Hendrickson said ICE agents told him then that he had failed to fill out a form required by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives when he imported the plane into the states from France. Hendrickson said he was unaware he had to register the plane with ATF since he removed the aircraft's artillery while it was still in France."

As to the threat to destroy, that may be a routine part of the boilerplate wording for Customs confiscations involving "weapons" (which I presume was the case here, since ATF was involved).

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

"As I recall there was/is some fairly formidable firepower on that aircraft."

According to the article, all armament had been removed in France.

[JRios1968]

"That's why I sent a Jeep home one part at a time..."

[Habibi]

” he removed the aircraft’s artillery while it was still in France.”

Well, there goes my theory then. Sounds like just “plane” harrassment then.

[Domandred]

Rogue agency (BATFE) strikes again. No I won’t give them the credit of a three letter 1st tier acronym.

[Tainan]

Build that yerself didja?
Right there in that garage...good job!

[Oscar the Grouch]

With respect, your understanding of how the ATF works is seriously deficient. Even the most insignificant violation (such as punctuation and spelling errors) of ANY regulation can and has resulted in ATF starting prosecution and/or seizure proceedings against the the hapless “offenders”. The example listed here, and tens of thousands around the country in recent years, are the precise reason that an ATF reform bill looks like it will pass out of Congress this year. It is also why ATF has been the subject of numerous “reform” laws in the past, perhaps more than any other federal agency. It would be better for the country, in my opinion, to fold the ATF’s responsibilities into the FBI and dissolve the agency entirely, but Congress seems always to lack the moral courage to actually abolish a federal agency, no matter how pressing the justification or egregious the behavior.

[USNBandit]

The interesting thing is that the aircraft was flown into the U.S.

One would think that is cleared Customs to enter the country in the first place. Maybe the ICE agents should go arrest the port inspectors as co-conspirators.

[Joe Boucher]

Less govt. is best govt.
Get rid of about 65 percent of govt workers and have a better world.

[U S Army EOD]

I am beginning to think the entire system is broken. I am currently going through some “adventures”.

[mad_as_he$$]

Article says that the guy removed the guns in France.

[org.whodat]

With respect, this story is about importing a war plane without proper authority.

However, ATF is a bum organization and should have been closed long ago. I would say 90% of its agents are nothing more than everyday criminals.

[Moose4]

IIRC Skyraiders normally carried four 20mm cannon in the wings, and hardpoints for several thousand pounds of various forms of varmint extermination (bombs, rockets, napalm, etc.) Under conditions of air superiority it was a hell of a good weapon in Vietnam; able to loiter for hours unlike the jets of the ‘60s, could carry a heavy load, and was slow and stable enough to put ordnance dead on a target. Plus it was tough. I’m amazed there’s only four still in the country, considering that thousands were built and it had a 20+-year service career.

BTW, if you ever see an AD up close, those things are HUGE. Absolutely monstrous for a single-engined prop. It’s just a big gorgeous beast of a warbird.

}:-)4