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I've had a guy walk out of his house with a shotgun once. He leaned
against an out building and just stood there watching me fly (legally
and with permission) from an adjoining field owned by his neighbor (my
friend). He never pointed the gun at me and, believe me, If he had, I
would have called the police.
None of that matters if you wear the bullets to your funeral.
Some Florida Flyers have recounted stories of 1) having a really
mad neighbor who they tried to avoid and 2) finding bullet holes in at
least one of their wings. So there are real risks to bear. And yes, I
know that shotguns don't go that far but I'm not willing to play the
range game. If it's got a barrel and bullets it can easily inflict
fatalities.
So I wasn't terribly surprised by what Ken sent me except for the
sheer number of hits.
This person played the target lobby a lot of
times.
Although this law says aircraft, there may be some recourse for
ultralighters.
Crimes and Criminal Procedure - 18 USC Section 32
Sec. 32. Destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities
(a) Whoever willfully -
(1) sets fire to, damages, destroys, disables, or wrecks any aircraft
in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States or any civil
aircraft used, operated, or employed in
interstate, overseas, or foreign air commerce;
(2) places or causes to be placed a destructive device or substance
in, upon, or in proximity to, or otherwise makes or causes to be made
unworkable or unusable or hazardous to work or use, any such aircraft,
or any part or other materials used or intended to be used in connection
with the operation of such aircraft, if such placing or causing to be
placed or such making or causing to be made is likely to endanger the
safety of any such aircraft;
(3) sets fire to, damages, destroys, or disables any air navigation
facility, or interferes by force or violence with the operation of such
facility, if such fire, damaging, destroying, disabling, or interfering
is likely to endanger the safety of any such aircraft in flight;
(4) with the intent to damage, destroy, or disable any such aircraft,
sets fire to, damages, destroys, or disables or places a destructive
device or substance in, upon, or in proximity to, any appliance or
structure, ramp, landing area, property, machine, or apparatus, or any
facility or other material used, or intended to be used, in connection
with the operation, maintenance, loading, unloading or storage of any
such aircraft or any cargo carried or intended to be carried on any such
aircraft;
(5) performs an act of violence against or incapacitates any
individual on any such aircraft, if such act of violence or
incapacitation is likely to endanger the safety of such aircraft;
(6) communicates information, knowing the information to be false and
under circumstances in which such information may reasonably be
believed, thereby endangering the safety of any such aircraft in flight;
or
(7) attempts or conspires to do anything prohibited under paragraphs
(1) through (6) of this subsection; shall be fined under this title or
imprisoned not more than twenty
years or both.
(b) Whoever willfully -
(1) performs an act of violence against any individual on board any
civil aircraft registered in a country other than the United States
while such aircraft is in flight, if such act is likely to endanger the
safety of that aircraft;
(2) destroys a civil aircraft registered in a country other than the
United States while such aircraft is in service or causes damage to such
an aircraft which renders that aircraft incapable of flight or which is
likely to endanger that aircraft's safety in flight;
(3) places or causes to be placed on a civil aircraft registered in a
country other than the United States while such aircraft is in service,
a device or substance which is likely to destroy that aircraft, or to
cause damage to that aircraft which renders that aircraft incapable of
flight or which is likely to endanger that aircraft's safety in flight;
or
(4) attempts or conspires to commit an offense described in
paragraphs (1) through (3) of this subsection; shall be fined under this
title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both. There is
jurisdiction over an offense under this subsection if a national of the
United States was on board, or would have been on board, the aircraft;
an offender is a national of the United States; or an offender is
afterwards found in the United States. For purposes of this subsection,
the term "national of the United States" has the meaning prescribed in
section 101(a)(22) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
(c) Whoever willfully imparts or conveys any threat to do an act
which would violate any of paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (a)
or any of paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (b) of this section,
with an apparent determination and will to carry the threat into
execution shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than
five years, or both.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1984 AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 98-473 effective Oct. 12, 1984, see section 2015 of
Pub. L. 98-473, set out as a note under section 31 of this title.
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Mike Robinson of Paratoys launching in the sticks
near Yuma, Arizona.
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