Aircraft's Owner Says He'll Sue The Town For $5 Million

Harold Guretzky, who lives in the Long Island hamlet of Oceanside in Nassau County, NY, said he could not afford to keep his airplane at an airport. So, he parked his Cessna 152 in his driveway, where it had been for the last year and a half.

That was until last Thursday, when town officials came and took the wings off the airplane, loaded it onto a flatbed truck, and took it off to a storage facility.

Guretzky was out of the country when they came to dismantle his airplane, and he told television station WNBC that it's a good thing he wasn't there. He said that he had a crossbow, and "anybody who comes near that airplane, I'll shoot right through their [expletive] chest."

He also said that they have no right to take "property licensed by the federal government."

Town officials tell a different story. They say that the town's zoning ordinances do not allow storage of an airplane at a private residence. The town had issued a total of 17 summonses telling Guretzky to remove the plane, and gave him a deadline of Wednesday of last week, according to town supervisor Anthony Santino.

So the 152, dubbed the "Spirit of Oceanside", was dismantled and hauled away.

Guretzky had said that keeping the airplane at his home was no different than parking a boat in the driveway. His neighbors said it was dangerous to have the plane in his driveway.

And, of course, the town says Guretzky will receive a bill for removing the aircraft and storage. Guretzky, however, says he'll sue the town for $5 million for taking his airplane.

(Image from news video uploaded to YouTube)

FMI: http://www.citytowninfo.com/places/new-york/oceanside