[§261-75]  Disposal of aircraft bypersons in aircraft repair business.  (a)  When any person abandons anaircraft upon the premises of an aircraft repair business, the owner of thebusiness or the authorized representative of the owner may sell or dispose ofthe aircraft in accordance with this section.

(b)  An aircraft shall be deemed to beabandoned upon satisfaction of all the following conditions:

(1)  The service requested or required by a personwhose aircraft is towed or brought to an aircraft repair business, such astowing and rendering estimates of the cost of repairs, has been performed; and

(2)  No authorization is given to perform any furtherservice respecting the aircraft but the aircraft is left on the repair businesspremises; and

(3)  The owner of the repair business or the owner'sauthorized representative has given notice by registered or certified mail:

(A)  To the registered owner of the aircraft atthe address on record at the aircraft repair business and the address on recordin the Federal Aviation Administration, and

(B)  To any person with a recorded interest inthe aircraft, stating that if the aircraft is not repossessed within thirtydays after the mailing of the notice, it will be sold or disposed of.  Thenotice also shall contain a description of the aircraft and its location.  Thenotice need not be sent to any purported owner or any person with an unrecordedinterest in the aircraft whose name or address is not known and cannot bedetermined; and

(4)  The aircraft is not repossessed within thethirty-day period specified in paragraph (3).

(c)  When an aircraft is abandoned, the ownerof the aircraft repair business, or the authorized representative of the ownerof the repair business, after one public advertisement in a newspaper ofgeneral circulation in the State, may negotiate the sale of the aircraft ordispose of it; provided that the aircraft shall not be sold or disposed of lessthan five days after the publication of the advertisement.

(d)  The authorized seller of the aircraftshall be entitled to the proceeds of the sale to the extent that compensationis due the seller for services rendered in respect of the aircraft, includingreasonable and customary charges for towing, handling, storage, and the cost ofthe notices and advertising required by this section.  A lien holder shallreceive priority of payment from the balance to the extent of the lien holder'slien.  Any remaining balance shall be forwarded to the registered owner of theaircraft, if the owner can be found.  If the owner cannot be found, the balanceshall be deposited with the director of finance of the State and shall be paidout to the registered owner of the aircraft, if a proper claim is filedtherefor within one year from the execution of the sale agreement.  If no claimis made within the year allowed, the money shall become a state realization.

(e)  The transfer of title and interest by saleunder this section is a transfer by operation of law and a bill of saleexecuted by the authorized seller shall be sufficient to authorize the transferof title or interest. [L 1981, c 25, pt of §1; gen ch 1985]