Searches of private aircraft may violate Constitution

CBP.gov

In the wake of a number recent seemingly random searches of general aviation aircraft by federal law enforcement agents, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association demanded answers from Customs and Border Protection officials.  In recent months, numerous searches of private aircraft have been reported by both the AOPA and the Atlantic.  The AOPA filed numerous Freedom of Information Act requests on behalf of members who were stopped and searched by federal agents.

 

In one case, cited by both sources, Gabriel Silverstein, a pilot from New York, was stopped by CBP officers twice on a cross country business trip to Oklahoma in his Cirrus light airplane in May.  A California Bonanza pilot, Larry Gaines, was surrounded by federal agents and questioned for two hours.  Another particularly disturbing example occurred last year when Robin Fleming, a 70-year-old glider pilot was arrested for ostensibly breaching a “no fly zone” over a nuclear plant in Hartsville, S.C. even though there were no posted airspace restrictions.

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Tags: airplane, aviation, constitution, flying, Fourth Amendment, search and seizure