We have not seen the owner in over 15 years.

1600vw

1600vw

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I found an airplane I want to purchase. I talked to the FBO at the airport where this is setting and they said they have not seen the owner in almost 15 years.

The FBO got tired of it taking up space and pushed it out into the back lot where it has sat for years.

How does one go about purchasing something where the owner has either died or just walked aways and never came back?

I knew this was the place to post this question good minds here, alot better then mine.
 
Run!

Is this some special rare bird and you are just itching for a couple of years of misery ? Barn-finds can be fun and turn into beautyful restorations, but well, they have to be in a barn or hangar to qualify. If the plane has sat outside for 15 years there is no price cheap enough that makes it worth buying.
 
Without going into alot...I have someone whom wants it.....Its a trade type of sell....I could come out smelling really good if I could get this bird for hardly nothing, like they tell me I can...The FBO just wants it gone....
 
FBO told me the owner stopped paying for the hangar almost 15 years ago.
 
Do you know anything about the owner? Is this person dead? Other than that you could look up who owns it and try and contact them.
 
flyingmoose said:
Do you know anything about the owner? Is this person dead? Other than that you could look up who owns it and try and contact them.
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From what I understand the FBO many years ago tried to find the owner. They gave up, it was like the owner just went away. It was after they could not find the owner they pushed this plane out into the back 40.
 
The FBO told me this was a flying airplane, the owner just never came back.
 
Look up the tail number at Faa.gov and see if you can find any contact info for the registered owner.
 
I would doubt it could pass an annual even if it were brand new when they stopped flying. Take the registration and serial number and start hunting through FAA records going back 15 years. With the name and town, go find the census data and property records. The internet is your friend.
Personally, something that sat that long probably will never fly again unless you do a complete restoration on it. That, as was stated, is only worth something if the plane has some unique history.
 
silver-eagle said:
I would doubt it could pass an annual even if it were brand new when they stopped flying. Take the registration and serial number and start hunting through FAA records going back 15 years. With the name and town, go find the census data and property records. The internet is your friend.
Personally, something that sat that long probably will never fly again unless you do a complete restoration on it. That, as was stated, is only worth something if the plane has some unique history.
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From what the FBO was telling me he did all the above with no luck. Its like this person just went away in thin air.

3 years ago I rented my hangar. We open the door and their sat a 172 that looked not to good. It had sat in that spot for 19 years.

After I came along it got the owner going and the next thing I know the plane is out and flying. She flies alot more now. Even had a radio upgrade. Oh by the way it had a locked up engine from setting. The A&P just kept putting oil in the cylinders and after about 2 weeks she was moving again. Like I said today she flies alot.
 
One way airports deal with those derelict aircraft is that they file a garagemans lien against the plane for the unpaid parking fees. Once it reaches the amount the plane is worth, they foreclose on the lien and take title to the aircraft. The nexst step involves a guy with a back-hoe and the county landfill.
 
You'll have to find someone from whom to buy the plane -- either the registered owner, or the FBO after the FBO obtains a legal judgment of default for debts owed in state court based on a possessory lien on the aircraft (either as a hangarkeeper or a mechanic). The latter will be much easier. In that case, the FBO takes the court order and sends it to the FAA with a Bill of Sale and registration application to become the new owner. Then you buy it from the FBO.

Of course, there are plenty of mechanical reasons why one does not want to buy an airplane which has been sitting in a field for 15 years, but that's not the question you asked.
 
1600vw said:
From what the FBO was telling me he did all the above with no luck. Its like this person just went away in thin air.

3 years ago I rented my hangar. We open the door and their sat a 172 that looked not to good. It had sat in that spot for 19 years.

After I came along it got the owner going and the next thing I know the plane is out and flying. She flies alot more now. Even had a radio upgrade. Oh by the way it had a locked up engine from setting. The A&P just kept putting oil in the cylinders and after about 2 weeks she was moving again. Like I said today she flies alot.
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As far as researching the owner, the tools are much better today than they were 15 years ago. I would do your own search and not rely on what the FBO did 15 years ago.

The plane is probably not worth salvaging. Many people would not fly behind an engine at has not turned over in 15 years and if it has been outside, you more than likely have corrosion issues. All the rubber and hoses will need to be replaced. Even if you get the plane for free, restoring it will cost a lot more than buying a working copy, unless, as said earlier, the plane has some collectible / antique interest. Even then, you would probably not come out ahead money wise.

I bought a plane that had mostly sat for 10 years (out of annual for a couple years here and there and maybe 100 hours total in that time, lots of deferred maintenance) and it has been a maintenance catch up nightmare. It hasn't been one big thing, but many, many little things. Good luck.
 
1600vw said:
From what the FBO was telling me he did all the above with no luck. Its like this person just went away in thin air.

3 years ago I rented my hangar. We open the door and their sat a 172 that looked not to good. It had sat in that spot for 19 years.

After I came along it got the owner going and the next thing I know the plane is out and flying. She flies alot more now. Even had a radio upgrade. Oh by the way it had a locked up engine from setting. The A&P just kept putting oil in the cylinders and after about 2 weeks she was moving again. Like I said today she flies alot.
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If you want to PM me the tail number, I can do some internet sleuthing for you, and promise to keep the info between you and me. I understand not wanting the information to go public because you don't want someone to snipe you, and also understand if you don't want to send it to me.

That said, the guy can be found; the FBO must not be very diligent if they couldn't find him.
 
Log books? Without log books you would have a hard time even getting started. With the log books it might be a fun project, but without them you are screwed. How would you even know if any ADs had been done before it was parked? You need a maintenance history unless you tear the whole thing down to nuts a bolts, and start all over rebuilding it. How much time on the engine, or airframe? A lot of ADs are based on time and you have no idea without logs. Also, just squirting oil in the cylinders until you get the rings to break loose and then running the engine is a very unsafe practice. When those rings seize it is because of corrosion. Even when they break loose there will be a ring of corrosion on the cylinder wall. The pistons dragging those old rings over that ridge will at the very least cause some premature wear and allow oil to pass the rings.
 
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Something WC Fields said about one being born every minute. Unless the thing is uber rare or of historical value the necessary investment to get it flying is likely to far exceed its value.
 
Google the guy too - and try Facebook and Linkedin.

If he does not appear anywhere the likelihood is that they are dead or so old that they don't 'do' computers.

Why would anyone want such an aircraft?
 
Maybe someone wants it for signage, restaurant decor or 100 things other than air worthy.
 
steingar said:
Something WC Fields said about one being born every minute. Unless the thing is uber rare or of historical value the necessary investment to get it flying is likely to far exceed its value.
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I think he just wants to play the middle man for someone who wants it. There's more than one old specimen mounted on the roof of a bar near an airport.
 
weilke said:
One way airports deal with those derelict aircraft is that they file a garagemans lien against the plane for the unpaid parking fees. Once it reaches the amount the plane is worth, they foreclose on the lien and take title to the aircraft. The nexst step involves a guy with a back-hoe and the county landfill.
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This, I've used it for cars multiple times, a plane can't be much different.

Could you just have the FBO give you a power of attorney with respect to the storage and back fees on that plane? That way you could file the paperwork on their behalf, etc.
 
guardrail said:
This, I've used it for cars multiple times, a plane can't be much different.

Could you just have the FBO give you a power of attorney with respect to the storage and back fees on that plane? That way you could file the paperwork on their behalf, etc.
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We do it monthly for cars left on the lot, we use a service that goes to the magistrates court and gets the titles, it costs us a couple hundred bucks per car.:yes:
And to keep piling on, run away from this thing, unless you are a pure glutton for punishment. You can't imagine the money it will take to make an airplane out of it. :mad2:
 
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Drop it in a tree in your back yard and let the kids play in it.
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For everyone who keeps saying, "run away", you're talking to the wrong person. In post 4, the OP says he's a middleman who's going to dump this hunk of junk on some other person who thinks they want it. It's that 3rd party you need to be talking to, not the OP.
 
1) Have a title search preformed on the plane there are a bunch of compaines in OKC who will do that for about $95.00

2) After you have confirmed the owners name and last known address have him skiptraced by a professional. Ask the Skip tracer to include Estate notices. I have an investigator that is freaking amazing if you want a name.

3) If you can locate him work out a purchase deal.

4) If you find out he died contact the representative of his estate and work out a deal. If there is no representative you may have to raise an estate to have an entity to sue for the asset.

5) If you can't find him or he won't work a deal you can buy the debt from the FBO or airport ( think pennies on the dollar) as well as have them assign their rights to collect and lein.

6) Once #5 is done file suit serve the owner or estate if non can be found you may have to apply to the court for permission to make service by publication. ie ad in the paper and a posting on the plane.

7) Take judgement by default requesting the Court or the Sheriff transfer the plane to you. Again this is where a title service in OKC can guide you as to what the FAA wants.

Really the easiest thing would be to have an aviation attorney handle this and then you skip the learning curve as the laws in your state may differ from the procedure I might follow which I posted above.
 
I don't think there is anything you can do without being able to contact a legal owner. That could be the FBO or the airport if they had a clause in the original hangar lease and they perused the issue but that's doubtful. I don't know of any means for you to claim ownership of abandoned property.

I have three hangars and inside one of them is a Cessna 210. I met the owner one time when I bought the hangar, he had already been in there for many years. The airplane has never flown or been moved for the past 6 years and as far as I can tell the owner has never even been around to see it. The rent check comes in the mail every month on time. I once had a person that was interested in buying the plane and I contacted the owner. He admitted he probably should sell it and said he'd think it over. Never heard from him again and that was a couple of years ago now.

Our lease agreement says that 30 days in arrears with rent and I can push the plane outside but where am I going to push it to? It's not even a roller at this point, I'd have to put tires on it first as they have literally rotted away where it sits.

Darn shame really, it's not a bad plane but this is a common thing.
 
I'm flying a plane that was sitting for > 14 years. Some of those years it was under a cover, and some were outside. It looks almost like it did when it left the factory. As long as someone is willing to put the time into it.

Get the FBO involved in taking it on a lien. Then buy it from them. I think plenty of planes have come back from the dead. It's not easy, and usually not cheap unless you are willing to do most of the refurb yourself, but it can be done.
 
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There's an Ercoupe on the line at my home airport that's a sad mess. Before I knew any better, I wanted to purchase and restore it. The FBO says it's been there since the late 90's. The owner died and it took them 18 months to find his son. The son paid 6 months of the past due tie down fees, flew the coop and no one's seen him since. Now, the FBO says they can't sell it until the county declares it truly abandoned and they're slow to do it because of a pretty big outstanding tax bill. They get inquiries about it every week and can do nothing.
 
steingar said:
Something WC Fields said about one being born every minute. Unless the thing is uber rare or of historical value the necessary investment to get it flying is likely to far exceed its value.
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Wasn't it P. T. Barnum who made the comment you referenced to WC Fields?

HR
 
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