The rest of the story.
We proceeded South to attend my mother's 70th birthday,( the visit was a surprise for her), found the countryside house, saw all the family congregated,dropped a message in a BLM drop bag, got it right in the pear tree in a 1 1/2 acre garden, and landed in a field. I called a nearby farmer for a field to tiedown in and he described one. Flying up the little valley we spotted two ladies picking blackberries in the hedge, landed in the field ,taxied over, window open we call for directuions to Farmer Jones place, astounded they pointed to next field, so we hopped the hedge and tied down. The farmer said no animals went in that pasture so off we went to celebrate the birthday.
3 days later I returned to the plane now surrounded by 50 sheep happily gnawing on the paint and fabric.
The shop that fixed it proceeded to tell me that survival gear in England does not consist of guns and blankets as in my AK base. It is a 50ft roll of barbed wire.
Funny thing, he'd fixed another plane from AK that had flown over the pond and landed gearup. It was a Staggerwing, also Razorback cover.
Jeremy

Here in Minnesota, the law is silent on road operations. The state does say, though, that you need permission for off-airport operations - i.e. private property. The state DOT guy I corresponded with insisted that pilots need explicit permission from state, county and municipal governments before landing on *their* roads. I disagreed but didn't argue. The roads are *public*, not private.

One county Sheriff insisted that it was simply prohibited and I'd better not try it in *his* county. I told him he was misinformed and never heard from him again. He had asked "the people at the airport", whoever they are. It's an unattended, uncontrolled field. The county highway folks said that there was no way I was allowed to land on 'their' roads.

My county Sheriff went so far as to look into the lawbooks. He found nothing prohibiting these operations and told me so. He's being quite reasonable. Amazed, but reasonable. He couldn't believe it wasn't prohibited. He believes it now.

I occaisionally use roads to stop and visit friends. The Don't Ask; Don't Tell method works best. Planning an emergency is also a good idea.

Jon B.

Great topic and some great stories.

I've often wondered what the legallities involved. My initial instructor used to tell me about flying home during college from Moscow, ID to Albion, ID and landing on the highway and pulling the plane off the road. I've always wanted to utilize the road by my parents house, but wasn't sure on the county/state laws.

Anyone have specific info for Idaho??

It has been legal to land on the roads in ID, but now alas it is not. With all of the new people moving in to the state incomes "progress". Better have a good story if you land on roads here now.

I used to land on the hiway in Owyhee county and pull up to one of the gas stations for fuel in the 80's, then the 90's the gas station owner changed and did not want planes, quite a few pilots used that station. Now in the 2000's we can no longer land on roads. That my friends is "progress".

soaringhiggy wrote:It has been legal to land on the roads in ID, but now alas it is not...I used to land on the hiway...for fuel in the 80's, then the...gas station owner changed and did not want planes,...That my friends is "progress".

Yeah, it's fun to be able to use roads for ldg & t/o, but I can see why they don't like it. Just think how fired up we all get when we see someone driving on "our" runways!
Berk

Berk wrote:A young friend & I landed near Fields on the dirt road. No cars in sight...Untill, of course we were down, and blocking the narrow road with our wings! She & I muscled the 172 around so the tail stuck out beyond the edge of the road, and the surprised travelers & locals gawked as they crept by, as we looked and laughed.

Recently I was on a brakin cruise in a Cessna 210 from Las Vegas to Washingtion. We'd decided toland in N86 (and get some cheap gas -maybe see Super Dave) .After a low oil pressure landing 80-100 miles short of Spanish Springs - I became ever watchful of the oil pressure.
After a short stop in Spanish Springs for a full tank of fuel and another
case of oil we were off hopefuly to Walla Walla,Wash. About the Nevada
Oregon line I looked down at another "0" oil pressure guage. In looking at my Garmin 296 the nearest "airport" was 35 miles away right under a big
thunderstorm. I checked and there were several roads below us. We
I saw a stright piece near us and gave Told Jack if wanted it
it was his call . I looked and thought I could see powerlines both sides of the narrow blacktop. As we got closer I could see it was the highway
markers with the "snow plow " reflectors . As we hit I heard several
"bang-bang-nangs " as we hit some of the snow plow reflectors. We stopped and got out to check for damage. The entire left hand side of the airplane (cessna 210 ) wascoveredwith oil-from the cowl back . Opened up the cowl and found the dip stick almost falling out. Wiped down the oil with a little gas we drained from the sumps. After we turned airplane around motorcycle came up -the first person we had seen out there. I ask motorcycle rider to go down to bend in road and watch for traffic.Blink his headlight when we had a clear shot (late afternoon facing into sun) and we'd hit it. I was on the right hand side telling Jack to go left or right because we couldn't see directly in front because of the crazed
windshield. With the stall warning blairing in my ear Jack began a shallow
right turn . I looked out the side to see the misquet bushes pass under (but veryclose) to the wing tip. I brought my head forward and 75 yards
in front lay a power line -I reached over and brought the gear up and leveled the wings hoping that we would miss the wire. The good lord
must have been with us that day because we missed the wire by less than 3 ft. Flaps still 20 but struggling for altitude . We began to circle to gain more altitude before taking off the flaps. We proceeded to Burns Oregon
and landed. After checking into the motel I needed a drink. After not drinking for 10 years -I had to have another. Following day we returned to Los Angeles with airplane making "potty and oil stops " 4 times. When we got back to L.A. Checked engine and had 20/80 coppession on 3
cylinders. Engine is now torn down and being reassembled. Road was High Way 140 3 miles south of Oregon -Nevada line. Even marked it on my GPS .

The following is from the Montana Pilots' Assoc. website:

LEGALITY OF LANDING ON OFF-AIRPORT LOCATIONS

The following is taken directly from the NOAA Airport/Facility Directory:

AIRCRAFT LANDING RESTRICTIONS

Landing of aircraft at locations other than public use airports may be a violation of Federal or local law. All land and water areas are owned and controlled by private individuals or organizations, states, cities, local governments, or U.S. Government agencies. Except in emergency, prior permission should be obtained before landing at any location that is not a designated public use airport or seaplane base.

Landing of aircraft is prohibited on lands or waters administered by the National park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, and on many areas controlled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, unless prior authorization is obtained from the respective agency.

(It is notable that lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) are not included in the above listing.)

The following is taken from a Sectional Aeronautical Chart. It offers a little more guidance:

REGULATIONS REGARDING FLIGHTS OVER CHARTED NATIONAL PARK SERVICE AREAS, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE AREAS, AND U.S. FOREST SERVICE AREAS

The landing of aircraft is prohibited on lands or waters administered by the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or U.S. Forest Service without authorization from the respective agency. Exceptions include:
1) when forced to land due to an emergency beyond the control of the operator
2) at officially designated landing sites, or
3) on approved official business of the Federal Government.

All aircraft are requested to maintain a minimum altitude of 2000 feet above the surface of the following: National Parks, Monuments, Seashores, Lakeshores, recreation Areas and Scenic Riverways administered by the National Park Service; National Wildlife Refuges, Big Game Refuges, Game Ranges and Wildlife Ranges administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and Wilderness and Primitive areas administered by the U.S. Forest Service. FAA Advisory Circular (AC) 91-36C, "Visual Flight Rules (VFR) Flight Near Noise-Sensitive Areas," defines the surface as: the highest terrain within 2000 feet laterally of the route of flight, or the upper-most rim of a canyon or valley.

Federal regulations also prohibit airdrops by parachute or other means of persons, cargo, or objects from aircraft on lands administered by the three agencies without authorization from the respective agency. Exceptions include:
1) emergencies involving the safety of human life, or
2) threat of serious property loss.



MONTANA STATE LAW CONCERNING LANDING ON PUBLIC ROADS


The following is taken directly from the Montana Code; MCA 67-1-204 (3) Lawfulness of Flight and Landings:

Aircraft landings and takeoffs from public roads in this state are lawful if proper safety precautions, as approved by the governing jurisdiction of the roads, are taken prior to the landing or takeoff, except as otherwise provided in this section. However, the local governing jurisdiction may not incur liability as a result of an approval under this subsection.

Zane,

The connection between pilot certificate actions and DUI's is this:

The FAA requires pilots to report a DUI to the FAA Aeromedical Branch within a specified time frame, and then to report it as well on your next medical application.

If you don't, the FAA has access to the State's motor vehicle violations records. In the last year or two, the FAA has been comparing notes between the State DUI records, and those of aviators with medical certificates.

The guaranteed penalty for lying on a medical application is either suspension of all certificates, or revocation.

They will not suspend your pilot priviledges for one DUI, but if they find out you had one and didn't report it, they will suspend or revoke your certificates.

MTV

mr.helix wrote:...All land and water areas are owned and controlled by private individuals or organizations, states, cities, local governments, or U.S. Government agencies. Except in emergency, prior permission should be obtained before landing at any location that is not a designated public use airport or seaplane base...

A (dearly departed) friend landed his Citabria on a hillside, next to a race track where his son was competing in a motorcycle race, here in California. He was greeted by some park officials who demanded to know if he was "ok".
His assurance that he was ok, brought the wrath of the officials, but when the pilot described why he'd landed there, the park officials began cooling off. They finally told him that if he could take-off safely, they'd allow him to leave immediately. Fortunately for him, he was the kind of fellow who nobody could stay mad at. A 100% spectacularly nice human being, he wore any machine that he drove, and knew what was safely possible, and what wasn't.
Maybe another time I could tell a few more outrageous stories about this fellow - maybe about him landing on a small beach, out of gas, or when he dropped his main wheels down in front of the windshield of a friend's truck whilst he was tooling down the highway, just to say hi!
Have fun, but don't fly like my friend! Berk

I have been trying to read thru the everything I can find at http://www.law.state.ak.us/doclibrary/doclib.html but I have yet to find an exact answer. Can you land on public roads in Alaska?

hello

Mike,

According to the Alaska Airmen's Logbook it is legal to land on any Alaskan highway as long as you do not interfere with traffic. I have not actually seen this particular statute, but it might be noted that alaska law is pretty liberal in its definition of an "airport":

"Sec. 02.15.260. Definitions.
(5) "airport" means an area of land or water that is used or intended for use for the landing and take-off of aircraft, and any appurtenant areas that are used or intended for use for airport buildings or other airport facilities or rights-of-way, together with airport buildings and facilities located thereon;"

In effect anywhere you land is an airport. This might be stretching it, but I have never heard of an Alaskan pilot being bothered for landing on a road. Perhaps the Airman's Association has more specifics.

The Logbook also mentions an important caveat: it is a convenient resource but abusing it will certainly lead to its loss. Do it. Just do not scare the Motorhoming and tourist crowd.

Chet

I was actually considering landing in downtown Anchorage! No, not really. I cannot actually think of an instance where I will need to do it. It was just a question posed around my office and I was trying to final the most official answer.

Thanks.

chetharris wrote:Mike,

According to the Alaska Airmen's Logbook it is legal to land on any Alaskan highway as long as you do not interfere with traffic. I have not actually seen this particular statute, but it might be noted that alaska law is pretty liberal in its definition of an "airport":

"Sec. 02.15.260. Definitions.
(5) "airport" means an area of land or water that is used or intended for use for the landing and take-off of aircraft, and any appurtenant areas that are used or intended for use for airport buildings or other airport facilities or rights-of-way, together with airport buildings and facilities located thereon;"

In effect anywhere you land is an airport. This might be stretching it, but I have never heard of an Alaskan pilot being bothered for landing on a road. Perhaps the Airman's Association has more specifics.

The Logbook also mentions an important caveat: it is a convenient resource but abusing it will certainly lead to its loss. Do it. Just do not scare the Motorhoming and tourist crowd.

Chet

You won't find a statute allowing it.

But you won't find (a state) one prohibiting it either, which is an important distinction from most states. Up here things are generally allowed unless prohibited.

I know of at least one municipality that has prohibited landings on public roads, so YMMV.

Landing on roads is totally irresponsible, unnessesary, and dangerous. It should only be done when there is a true emergency, like carburetor icing, or similar abnormality that can be explained but not proven to have existed. If there happens to be a great hot spring near by, a river to drop a fishing line in while you wait for said ice to dissipate, or an opputunity to fill up on cheap mogas, so be it. Pop open a cowling and leave some stategically placed tools visible, I am sure the local constablery will completely understand. Especially if you keep a keen eye out, take off strait at them, and don't change heading for a couple of miles so they can't see any tail numbers.

TwinPOS wrote:Especially if you keep a keen eye out, take off strait at them, and don't change heading for a couple of miles so they can't see any tail numbers.

Down low, straight at them, keep the tail the only thing they can see!!! Unless it's a nudist beach, in which case go back and just hover.

Gump

Last week I heard some guys around here talking about emergency landings. One of them seemed to think that in Ohio, if you land on a road, you cannot take off again on a road. He said that you have to take it apart and get it to an airport to depart. Anyone know if there is any truth to this? I'm going to ask the local trooper, but haven't seen him in a few weeks.

I do know that once the law get's involved and if you ask and they say no, and you leave anyway, they will find something to charge you with. I would say be very polite, don't ask permission, but respectfully ask if the officer would be so kind as to block traffic long enough for you to depart. Don't even let him think he can grant or deny permission, then the thought becomes that he or his dept. could get into trouble by granting you permission, so he says no.
It's been years ago, but there was this Marina in Fl. that if you called them on the radio they would run out and block the road long enough for you to land and taxi in to the parking lot. Nobody seemed to care or even thought about the legality of it.

I flew a friend of mine to Rome, by the Owyhee River. He is a pump man and needed to go down to fix a ranchers pump. When we got down to Rome a thunder storm rad just passed and the dirt strip was standing in water. I circled a few times wating for the traffic to clear and then landed on highway 95. I was trying to maintain a low profile but when we got ready to take off here comes a lady with her camcorder to get a picture of our takeoff. I was hopeing non of her relatives worked for the police department. Bob

I've rolled my wheels across a few highway pavement or county
roads.Watch out for powerlines and fences. Farmers fields make great stopping points >providing you own the property or have permission. I've got a friend who just got a CH701 so he could land out at his house (West of Las Vegas) . Were going to get him checked out on the dry lake bed . The Red rocks area of Vegas used to use a road for a airstrip. Bruce Barton's old place was actually 7100 Gomer Rd. in Vegas where they painted my airplane. See abandoned airstrips -Las Vegas. Unique in it had a stop sign on west end for car traffic. Someplace I have picture of a 170 sitting at stop sign waiting for cars to pass. Had a county mountie pull up one day -I explaned "high Oil Temp" precosionary landing. He even offered to block road while we took off. Landing in the Grand Canyon is another thrill.