Baffled Warbird Owner Feels Targeted By Customs

A Douglas AD-4N Skyraider was seized by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in May of 2009 on charges that the owner, Claude Hendrickson, failed to file appropriate paperwork.  The pilot and warbird enthusiast imported the $100,000 aircraft from France in 2008 to in Bessemer, AL, where it was being prepared for air show exhibitions.

The 48-year-old Hendrickson owns several other warbirds, including the exact SNJ-4 his father flew in the Navy. He flies several of the planes in air shows and stations them all at Bessemer (EKY).

ICE, a division of The Department of Homeland Security, claims that forms required by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF) were improperly filed when he imported the plane.  Hendrickson said he was unaware he had to register with ATF, because he removed the aircraft's artillery before coming into the US, and did not intend to skip any steps in the registration process.

The plane initially cleared by US customs when it landed in Buffalo, NY, after its trans-Atlantic flight. The Skyraider was inspected by the FAA in September 2008 and issued an Experimental and Exhibition operating certificate and US registration number.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's office, Peggy Sanford, told The Birmingham News that that in cases where ICE seizes property and the owner challenges that seizure, it becomes a judicial matter handled by the U.S. Attorney's office.  The courts can then decide how to proceed.  Until then, the plane remains impounded and unavailable for maintenance or preservation efforts.

Hendrickson claims he has not been given specifics on his case or been charged with a crime. He does report several incidences since the seizure where he was detained by Customs upon reentry to the US after trips abroad.  A letter from Hendrickson's attorneys was sent to Customs and Border Patrol Chief Counsel Alfonso Robles,  charging that border patrol officials were "overly aggressive and violent" towards Hendrickson.

"Ultimately, my intentions from the beginning have been to fly this plane for five to 10 years in air shows and then donate it to the Southern Museum of Flight in my father's name," Hendrickson told The Birmingham News. 

"I'm a target.  It's like I have been labeled a terrorist," said Hendrickson. "I was really just trying to preserve a piece of American history."

FMI: http://www.savetheskyraider.com, www.ice.gov