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Volume 14,Issue 3 Autumn 2012

PRESERVING YOUR ANONYMITY AS AN AIRCRAFT OWNER

飞机机主如何匿名?

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When an aircraft is bought or sold in the United States, two documents must be filed with the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) – a bill of sale and registration application. The buyer must list an address on the registration application. Both documents become part of the public record and are searchable in a number of ways. This gives many aircraft owners or potential owners pause as they often do not want the public to know about their aircraft ownership or to have their address revealed in public records and thus subject to solicitations.

In order to preserve anonymity, several steps can be taken. First, the address listed on the bill of sale and registration application can be a “care of” address. This allows the owner’s attorney, management company or authorized agent to receive mailings on their behalf. However, this can sometimes complicate the over-flight exemption process, and care should be taken to weigh both of these issues prior to the selection of a particular address. Another alternative is to use a post office box for the bill of sale. However, the FAA insists upon a physical address for the registration application.

Even if the address issue is solved, the owning entity must be named on both the registration application and the bill of sale. Often times, a special purpose company or limited liability company can be formed to own the aircraft. However, if this is the case, it is important to note that special purpose companies cannot operate the aircraft, and additional ownership structure planning will be necessary. In the case of a limited liability company, the FAA registry requires that a statement in support of registration be filed. The statement must list who the managers and members of the LLC are and who has the authority to act on behalf of the company. This statement in support of registration becomes part of the public record; therefore, forming a limited liability company for anonymity may not provide the protection sought. Interestingly, if the entity is a corporation, the FAA registry does not require a statement in support of registration. Accordingly, there is more anonymity in owning an aircraft under a corporation than a limited liability company. However, the tax implications and the liability risks should be weighed against the desire for anonymity.

Finally, a trust can be formed to own the aircraft. Often times aircraft owners feel this is a good way to protect their anonymity. However, the FAA requires that a copy of the trust agreement be filed with the registration and bill of sale unless the trust agreement contains sensitive estate planning information. Furthermore, the FAA has recently amended its requirements for owner trusts and owners may find the new, more stringent requirements less desirable than before. There is no easy way to protect your anonymity when owning an aircraft. But ownership structure, strategic addresses and thoughtful advanced planning can allow an owner more anonymity, fewer solicitations and less public scrutiny.

在美国,当购买或者销售一架飞机时,要跟美国联邦航空局填写两个文件——一张飞机销售协议、一张登记申请表。买主必须在注册申请单上填上地址。这两个文件就变成公开信息,通过多种途径都可以查询到。这就让很多飞机买家或潜在买家迟疑了,因为通常他们并不愿意公开自己拥有飞机,也不愿意公开自己的地址,以免被骚扰。

机主为了匿名,可以采取以下几项措施。首先,在飞机销售表和注册申请表里填写的地址可以是“代收”地址。这样,机主的律师、飞机管理公司及授权机构可以代为接收邮件。然而,这么做可能使飞行豁免程序复杂化,而且要在选定地址前考虑这些问题。另一个替代办法是,使用邮政邮箱来接收销售单。然而,美国联邦航空局坚持要求在飞机注册申请表上填上实际的地址。

即使地址的问题解决了,飞机持有实体的名称还是要填写在注册申请表和销售协议里。通常的情况是,可以成立一个专门公司或者有限责任公司来作为一架飞机的持有实体。然而,如果这样做,还要注意这种专门公司是不能运营飞机的,而且还要对飞机的持有结构进行修改。如果是成立有限责任公司来持有这架飞机,美国联邦航空局要求这个公司填写一个声明来背书填写的飞机注册申请表。声明里要列出这个公司的管理人和成员以及谁有权代表这个公司。这份声明也会成为公开表格的一部分;所以,为了将机主姓名匿名而成立一家有限责任公司也许不能提供所要寻求的保护。有趣的是,如果成立的是一个股份有限公司,美国联邦航空局就不要求这份背书飞机注册申请表的声明。因而,利用股份有限公司来匿名拥有飞机的情况多于有限责任公司。不过,在匿名以前要权衡税法解释和责任风险。

最后,可以成立信托来拥有飞机。通常情况下,机主认为这是匿名持有飞机的好途径。然而,美国联邦航空局要求将信托协议的填写在飞机注册表和销售表中,除非信托协议里包含敏感的产业计划信息。另外,美国联邦航空局最近修改了对受托人和委托人的要求,这些要求更为严格,大概不会像以前那么受欢迎。

当持有一架飞机时,要想匿名并不容易。但是考虑全面而细心的规划拥有者的背景、实际地址能够让机主更大程度地匿名,减少骚扰和公众关注。

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