Aircraft owners: Beware of international registry solicitations
Some AOPA members have recently received e-mails or postcards telling them that they have not registered their aircraft "in compliance with the international treaty ratified by the United States known as The Cape Town Convention...."
Read this carefully before you act.
For the owner of the typical four- or six-seat piston-engine general aviation aircraft, there is no need or requirement to register the aircraft in the international database.
And we want to make sure that you understand that the company sending the solicitations - the International Aircraft Registry in Oklahoma City - is NOT the official International Registry of Mobile Assets in Ireland, as the company states at the bottom of its home page.
The solicitations direct you to a Web site that looks very similar to the official International Registry of Mobile Assets site. The two sites even have very similar addresses (URLs), with the official site ending in .aero and the other site ending in .com.
Do I have to register?
The Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment - to which the United States is a signatory - says that a financial interest in an "aircraft object" - meaning an aircraft that is type certificated to transport at least eight persons including crew or goods in excess of 6,063 pounds, or a helicopter that is type certificated to transport at least five persons including crew or goods in excess of 992 pounds, or turbine-powered or piston-powered aircraft engines producing 550 or more rated takeoff horsepower or its equivalent, or jet propulsion aircraft engines with at least 1,750 pounds thrust or its equivalent for a jet - should be recorded in the International Registry of Mobile Assets.
If your aircraft falls into the above category but there hasn't been a change in financial interest since March 1, 2006 (the aircraft has been sold or purchased, a new loan or lien applied to the aircraft, a name added or removed from the title), there's no need to submit the information to the international database.
Again, if you own the typical four- or six-seat piston-engine GA aircraft, international registration doesn't apply.
If you do want to register your "aircraft object," you must do it through an agent registered with the international registry.
Aviareto, the company running the international database, has informed AOPA that the International Aircraft Registry in Oklahoma City is not a registered agent with them.
However, many aircraft title companies - such as AOPA Aircraft Title and Escrow Services - are registered agents.
You should seek the advice of an established aircraft title service or an attorney specializing in aircraft titles on whether you should register your aircraft with the international registry.
November 22, 2006
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