§261-7.5  Airport facilities; collection oflanding fees and other charges and fees.  (a)  The department shall have alien upon any aircraft landing upon any airport operated by it for landing feesand other charges and fees for the use of the services or facilities of theairport when payment of those charges and fees is not made immediately upondemand therefor to the operator or owner of the aircraft by a duly authorizedemployee of the department.  The lien shall be for the full amount of thecharges and fees and shall attach to any aircraft owned or operated by theperson owing those charges and fees.  The department shall not execute on thelien until it complies with the procedures set out in subsections (b) through(h) of this section.

(b)  The department shall cause to be placed,upon the aircraft for which charges and fees are due, a notice which shallindicate that the operator or owner of the aircraft has failed to pay suchcharges and fees, the time the notice was posted, and an intention to perfect alien on the aircraft and impound it if the operator or owner of the aircraftdoes not pay the charges and fees incurred within forty-eight hours of theposting of the notice.

(c)  Any aircraft for which the department hasserved notice may be summarily and administratively impounded by the departmentif the charges and fees which the owner or operator of the aircraft hasincurred have not been paid to the department before the expiration of theforty-eight-hour notice period.

(d)  Within three days after the administrativeimpoundment of an aircraft pursuant to this section by the department, a secondnotice shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to theregistered owner and the operator, if known, and, if the operator is other thanthe owner or a representative of the owner of the impounded aircraft, thesecond notice shall be sent to the operator at the last address shown on theaircraft registration records of the Federal Aviation Administration.  Thissecond notice shall be comprised of a copy of the notice posted on theimpounded aircraft at the start of the forty-eight-hour notice period, togetherwith a demand that the owner or operator of the impounded aircraft pay thecharges and fees which have been incurred.

(e)  Within thirty days of the impoundment bythe department of an aircraft, the owner or operator of the aircraft may file awritten request with the department for an administrative hearing.  The soleissue to be considered at this administrative hearing is whether the owner oroperator is not current in payments to the department for landing fees andother fees and charges for the use of services or airport facilities owned oroperated by the department.  The department shall have the burden of proof atthis administrative hearing.

Within three days after receipt by thedepartment of a written request for an administrative hearing from the owner oroperator of the aircraft, the department shall conduct the requested hearing. In calculating the three-day period, weekends and holidays shall be excluded.

In all other respects, chapter 91 shall governthis administrative hearing.

(f)  If it is determined by the director thatthe owner or operator of the impounded aircraft is current in payments to thedepartment for charges and fees, the impounded aircraft shall be immediatelyreleased by the department to the aircraft owner or operator.  In addition, thedepartment shall bear the cost and expense of impounding the aircraft.

(g)  If it is determined by the director thatthe owner or operator of the impounded aircraft is not current in payments tothe department for charges and fees, the department may satisfy its lien out ofthe proceeds of any sale or auction of the impounded aircraft; provided thatany remaining balance of the proceeds of the sale or auction, after deductionof the cost of maintenance, storage, and other costs related to the impoundmentand the sale or auction conducted to satisfy the lien, shall be returned to theimpounded aircraft owner or operator.

(h)  An owner or operator of the impoundedaircraft may also obtain immediate possession of the impounded aircraft bypaying to the department, without an administrative hearing, all charges andfees owed by the owner or operator of the impounded aircraft and the cost andexpense of impounding the aircraft incurred by the department.

(i)  If the owner or operator of an impoundedaircraft does not:

(1)  Request an administrative hearing within thirtydays of the department's impounding of the aircraft; or

(2)  Pay the department all cost and expenses ofimpounding the aircraft and the charges and fees due and owing within fifteendays of a finding of probable cause that the charges and fees are due andowing,

the aircraft shall be disposed of by public auction,through oral tenders, or by sealed bids, after public notice has been given;provided that the public auction shall not be held less than five days afterpublic notice is given.  Where no bid is received, the aircraft may be sold bynegotiation, disposed of as junk, or donated to any governmental agency.

(j)  Public auction shall not be required whenthe appraised value of any aircraft, as determined by an independent appraiserwho has had at least one year of experience in the sale or purchase ofaircraft, is less than $100.  Upon that determination and after public noticeis given, the director may sell the aircraft by negotiation, dispose of it asjunk, or donate the aircraft to any governmental agency.

(k)  The transfer hereunder shall be evidencedby a bill of sale from the department, shall be considered a transfer byoperation of law, and shall be governed by provisions applicable thereto.

(l)  A purchaser of an aircraft sold to satisfya lien pursuant to this section shall take the aircraft free of any rights ofpersons against whom that lien was valid. [L 1987, c 163, §1; am L 1998, c 2,§74]