Landing on a road?

[groundpointsix]

How does one check the local laws for landing on rarely used roads? Say for Michigan. Who would I contact, the local sherriff?

Many states have the state codes online. Try the state website. Local laws may be a little harder to find online, but I would say to try the local library/town hall/courthouse and see what they have. I would imagine asking the local sheriff would be much like asking the local FSDO for an FAR interpretation. That's not to say he won't try to arrest you if it is legal and you try it, but at least you have the actual law on your side.

 

[Lead Sled]

Many states have the state codes online. Try the state website. Local laws may be a little harder to find online, but I would say to try the local library/town hall/courthouse and see what they have. I would imagine asking the local sheriff would be much like asking the local FSDO for an FAR interpretation. That's not to say he won't try to arrest you if it is legal and you try it, but at least you have the actual law on your side.

Actually the best place to start is with the state department of aeronautics. They will have a listing of the applicable state statutes and be able to point you in the right direction to get the statutes for the counties and cities. However, it may all be a mute point if your friendly local aviation insurance underwriter thinks ill of the proposal. Check the fine print of your policy, there will frequently be stipulations such as "hard surfaced, public use airports" etc. In other words, even if you are totally legal, if you ding anything you may be on your own when it comes insurance coverage.

'Sled

 

[TDTURBO]

Actually the best place to start is with the state department of aeronautics. They will have a listing of the applicable state statutes and be able to point you in the right direction to get the statutes for the counties and cities. However, it may all be a mute point if your friendly local aviation insurance underwriter thinks ill of the proposal. Check the fine print of your policy, there will frequently be stipulations such as "hard surfaced, public use airports" etc. In other words, even if you are totally legal, if you ding anything you may be on your own when it comes insurance coverage.

'Sled

Hmmmmm, good point. It sure would be incredibly convenient at the lake. I will look into this further and report back. I doubt highly they will let you do this in lower Michigan, even in rural areas but it's worth a look. I might just have to change my sig at the bottom.

 

[TDTURBO]

Here is some info I copied from the DOT in Michigan.


(7) A person shall not operate an aircraft in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger, or be likely to
endanger, the life or property of another. Other than at a licensed or approved landing area, a person shall not
fly an aircraft less than 25 feet (7.6 meters) above the ground at the field boundary, or closer than 25 feet (7.6
meters) to any object or structure while landing or taking off.


259.80d Landing aircraft.
Sec. 80d. (1) An aircraft shall not land, except in an emergency, on private property, other than upon
recognized landing areas, unless express permission is secured from the owner or lessee.
(2) A person shall not land an aircraft on a public highway, except in an emergency. A person shall not
operate an aircraft on a public highway unless traffic is controlled by law enforcement officials.
Lighter-than-air and emergency evacuation aircraft may take off and land on any public highway with
prearranged traffic control.


259.89 Private use landing areas.
Sec. 89. Sections 86 and 87a do not apply to landing areas designated and operated for private use if
commercial operations are not performed on the landing areas. A landing area for private use shall not be
established, without commission approval, within 5 nautical miles of a public use facility certified by the
commission or that would violate section 87.


And if you do it anyway, here is the fine and punishment....


259.180 Reckless operation of aircraft as misdemeanor; penalty.
Sec. 180. A person who operates any aircraft within the airspace over, above, and upon the lands and
waters of the state, carelessly and heedlessly in willful or wanton disregard of the rights or safety of others, or
without due caution and circumspection and in a manner so as to endanger or be likely to endanger any person
or property, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 90 days, a fine of not
more than $500.00, or community service of not more than 30 days, or any combination of these penalties.

 

[IP076]

If its that important to you, and you think its worth it, why don't you consult your few neighbors, and try to get this road recognized as an "Approved Landing Area", ie, a private airport.

I've seen a few private airport/road combinations out west. I'd guess its possible.

You may be able to convince the neighbors with a few 100 dollar hamburger trips from their new local airport every now and then!

 

[BD King]

Years ago, I knew a guy who had a getaway place in Kentucky and would land the "ol" Bonanza on the township road. Things went swimmingly until the township put up a new road sign.

www.bdkingpress.com

 

[low-n-slow]

Check local governments regarding the use of roadways being used for landing strips. We spray in 3 different counties here and two of them will allow us to use the county roads with prior permission while the other county will not allow the use of the roads. I've worked in some places out west where the use of roads as landing strips were included in the (counties) laws and by-laws and no prior permission is mandated, with varying rules and stipulations of course.

As previously mentioned, make sure that your aircraft will be covered by your insurance coverage. Sometimes it's no more than a phone call to the company for the additional coverage.

 

[igneousy2]

If its that important to you, and you think its worth it, why don't you consult your few neighbors, and try to get this road recognized as an "Approved Landing Area", ie, a private airport.

I've seen a few private airport/road combinations out west. I'd guess its possible.

You may be able to convince the neighbors with a few 100 dollar hamburger trips from their new local airport every now and then!

Actually, if you're in Michigan, and as long as you don't land on a state road (highway) and you're not within 5 miles of a public airport, you don't need permission.

You would need to check the regulations of the government entity that owns the road you are trying to land on...i.e the city/town or the county. If the road is a private road, get permission of the owner and go for it.


...I'm not speaking from personal knowledge...just the laws as posted here by another poster.

 

[TDTURBO]

Igniously2,


Where did you find this info? I am not within 5 miles but 15 miles from an airport (public) and the road is a county road in VanBuren County. CR390 or something like that. It would be ideal and it is rarely used and I can see traffic coming well in advance and the neighbors are all my relatives on the lake so getting permission isn't an issue. my uncle is a Magjistrate (judge) in the county, but he isn't sure either, I asked him this weekend. I guess I will call him so he can research it more. But where did you get this info?


It is actually 36th street not CR390 if that makes a difference.

 

[check6]

I think it's legal in Nevada, of course, what isn't?

 

[DrewBlows]

deleted, redundant

 

[agpilot34]

I flew cropdusters for several years, and there was one area we did applications in every year where we used a county section line road as our airstrip. We'd give the county commissioners a call, let them know when we'd be there, and they would bring out a couple of barricades to set up at each end. We'd land, taxi off into an open field that didnt have a fence, and that was where we had our nurse trucks set up to fuel and load the aircraft. We usually spent about three weeks at that place, and never had a problem of any kind.

 

[igneousy2]

Igniously2,


Where did you find this info? I am not within 5 miles but 15 miles from an airport (public) and the road is a county road in VanBuren County. CR390 or something like that. It would be ideal and it is rarely used and I can see traffic coming well in advance and the neighbors are all my relatives on the lake so getting permission isn't an issue. my uncle is a Magjistrate (judge) in the county, but he isn't sure either, I asked him this weekend. I guess I will call him so he can research it more. But where did you get this info?


It is actually 36th street not CR390 if that makes a difference.

Just based on TDTURBO's post on 6/21/2005