SECTION 55-1-40. Unlawful entry of aircraft; damaging or removing equipment.

(1) It is unlawful for a person to enter an aircraft or damage or remove from it any equipment or other property attached to it, affined to or otherwise on or in an aircraft without the permission of the owner or a person authorized by the owner to grant such permission. (2) The provisions of this section do not apply to any airport personnel or other persons while acting in an official capacity except when such capacity is used to accomplish an unlawful purpose. (3) A person violating the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not less than five thousand dollars nor more than ten thousand dollars or imprisoned not less than one year nor more than ten years. (4) The provisions of this section are cumulative. Effect of Amendment The 1993 amendment made grammatical changes. The 2012 amendment inserted "affined to or otherwise on or in an aircraft" in subsection (1); substituted "five" for "one" following "must be fined not less than" in subsection (3); and, made other, nonsubstantive, changes.