(a) The executive director, any employee of the authority, any officer attached to an organized police department, any state police officer or any constable, within his or her precinct, upon discovery of any aircraft apparently abandoned, whether situated within or without any airport or landing field in this state, shall take such aircraft into custody and may cause the same to be taken to and stored in a suitable place. All charges necessarily incurred by such person in the performance of such duty shall be a lien upon such aircraft. The owner or keeper of any hangar or other place where such aircraft is stored shall have a lien upon the same for storage charges. If such aircraft has been so stored for a period of ninety days, such owner or keeper may sell the same at public auction for cash, at such owner's or keeper's place of business, and apply the avails of such sale toward the payment of such owner's or keeper's charges and the payment of any debt or obligation incurred by the person who placed the same in storage, provided such sale shall be advertised three times in a newspaper published or having a circulation in the town where such hangar or other place is located, such advertisement to commence at least five days before such sale; and, if the last place of abode of the owner of such aircraft is known to or may be ascertained by such hangar owner or keeper by the exercise of reasonable diligence, notice of the time and place of sale shall be given such owner by mailing such notice to the owner in a registered or certified letter, postage paid, at such last usual place of abode, at least five days before the time of sale. The proceeds of such sale, after deducting the amount due such hangar owner or keeper and all expenses connected with such sale, including the expenses of the officer who placed such aircraft in storage, shall be paid to the owner of such aircraft or the owner's legal representatives, if claimed by such owner or representatives, at any time within one year from the date of such sale. If such balance is not claimed within said period, it shall escheat to the state.

(b) If the owner of such aircraft placed in storage in accordance with the provisions of this section fails to claim such aircraft within sixty days, the owner of such hangar or other place of storage shall, within thirty days thereafter, send a written notice to the executive director, stating the make, type, engine number and identification number of such aircraft and the date such aircraft was left with such owner for storage and by whom, which notice shall be placed on file by the executive director and shall be subject to public inspection. Any sale under the provisions of this section shall be void, unless the notice required by this section has been given to the executive director.

(1949 Rev., S. 4821; 1961, P.A. 517, S. 131; 1969, P.A. 768, S. 187; 1972, P.A. 134, S. 5; 207, S. 5; P.A. 77-614, S. 555, 610; P.A. 00-99, S. 52, 154; P.A. 01-195, S. 19, 181; P.A. 15-192, S. 42.)

History: 1961 act substituted deputy director for assistant director in Subsec. (a); 1969 act replaced “commission” and “director”, referring to aeronautics commission and director, with “commissioner”, referring to commissioner of transportation and replaced “deputy director” with “deputy commissioner for the bureau of aeronautics”; 1972 acts deleted references to commission members and to aircraft registrations; P.A. 77-614 deleted reference to deputy commissioner, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 00-99 deleted reference to sheriff in Subsec. (a), effective December 1, 2000; P.A. 01-195 made technical changes in Subsec. (a) for the purposes of gender neutrality, effective July 11, 2001; P.A. 15-192 replaced “commissioner” with “executive director” and “department” with “authority” and made technical changes, effective July 2, 2015.