Active Protect Our Airspace
Active public project asking federal authorities to enforce federal control of navigable U.S. airspace after an emergency landing and a local ordinance dispute at Red Lake.
Earlier public path: /plane, /darrin, /petition
The live project is Protect Our Airspace at /plane. The public page title is “Demand Federal Action: Protect Our Airspace and Open the Skies Now.” It lists the status as active and the next milestone as phase 1.
An earlier page, Save the Plane (/darrin), describes the aircraft return as completed. That page and the leftover petition page (/petition) are not separate live projects here. Both addresses redirect to this follow-on project. The completed Save the Plane card on the live projects list uses a separate public graphic:
Summary
The public page says the FAA claims exclusive sovereignty over U.S. airspace, and that a pilot from Roseau made an emergency landing and then faced a tribal seizure of his aircraft under a local ordinance claiming exclusive possession of 20,000 feet of airspace over the reservation. It names the aircraft as a 1946 Stinson 108-1 and the pilot as Darrin Smedsmo. It says the aircraft was later recovered, and that the Red Lake ordinance claiming 20,000 feet of airspace still contradicts federal law.
The page asks the FAA, the Department of Transportation, and other federal authorities to enforce the federal control they already have, and to issue binding guidance that federal airspace cannot be claimed or restricted by local ordinance. It describes a federal lawsuit against Red Lake tribal officers and the FAA. The stated aims on the page are:
- Clarify that tribal sovereignty does not extend to regulating or closing navigable U.S. airspace, and reinforce federal preemption.
- Ask a court to require the FAA to protect federal airways from local and tribal interference.
- Contest a Red Lake ordinance that the page says prohibits aircraft from flying under 20,000 feet.
- Seek a federal statute the page calls “Darrin’s Law,” authorizing private lawsuits against tribal officials who interfere with federal airspace or seize an airplane after an emergency landing on a reservation.
The page also says the live site includes a petition. This prototype does not collect signatures. Gifts to this project are donations to Five Stones Legal Defense Fund.
Milestones listed on the public page
The public page lists two milestones and estimated legal-cost figures. Those figures are the page’s own estimates of legal cost.
- U.S. federal court declaratory and injunctive action. A lawsuit in U.S. District Court against Red Lake tribal officers and the FAA, seeking a public right to reservation airspace, relief against the 20,000-foot restriction, and enforcement of FAA authority. The page lists an estimated legal-cost figure of $137,000.
- Advocacy for “Darrin’s Law.” Drafting, introduction, FAA education, and congressional testimony for a statute on private federal lawsuits after unlawful aircraft seizures or interference with federal airspace following emergency landings. The page lists an estimated figure of $25,000 for support of aligned advocates.
Counsel named on the public page
The page names Erick G. Kaardal and Elizabeth Nielsen, and it links to mklaw.com.
- Mohrman, Kaardal & Erickson
Organization link published on the live project page.
The earlier public Save the Plane page says the seized aircraft was returned. It describes that result as a victory for Roseau pilot Darrin Smedsmo and Five Stones Legal Defense Fund after an emergency landing within the Red Lake Indian Nation. The follow-on public page at /plane stays active. It says the local ordinance claiming 20,000 feet of airspace is still in conflict with federal control, and it describes a planned federal case and a proposed statute. This page does not add a court judgment.