§ 32. — Destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 18USC32]
TITLE 18--CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
PART I--CRIMES
CHAPTER 2--AIRCRAFT AND MOTOR VEHICLES
Sec. 32. Destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities
(a) Whoever willfully--
(1) sets fire to, damages, destroys, disables, or wrecks any
aircraft in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States
or any civil aircraft used, operated, or employed in interstate,
overseas, or foreign air commerce;
(2) places or causes to be placed a destructive device or
substance in, upon, or in proximity to, or otherwise makes or causes
to be made unworkable or unusable or hazardous to work or use, any
such aircraft, or any part or other materials used or intended to be
used in connection with the operation of such aircraft, if such
placing or causing to be placed or such making or causing to be made
is likely to endanger the safety of any such aircraft;
(3) sets fire to, damages, destroys, or disables any air
navigation facility, or interferes by force or violence with the
operation of such facility, if such fire, damaging, destroying,
disabling, or interfering is likely to endanger the safety of any
such aircraft in flight;
(4) with the intent to damage, destroy, or disable any such
aircraft, sets fire to, damages, destroys, or disables or places a
destructive device or substance in, upon, or in proximity to, any
appliance or structure, ramp, landing area, property, machine, or
apparatus, or any facility or other material used, or intended to be
used, in connection with the operation, maintenance, loading,
unloading or storage of any such aircraft or any cargo carried or
intended to be carried on any such aircraft;
(5) performs an act of violence against or incapacitates any
individual on any such aircraft, if such act of violence or
incapacitation is likely to endanger the safety of such aircraft;
(6) communicates information, knowing the information to be
false and under circumstances in which such information may
reasonably be believed, thereby endangering the safety of any such
aircraft in flight; or
(7) attempts or conspires to do anything prohibited under
paragraphs (1) through (6) of this subsection;
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years
or both.
(b) Whoever willfully--
(1) performs an act of violence against any individual on board
any civil aircraft registered in a country other than the United
States while such aircraft is in flight, if such act is likely to
endanger the safety of that aircraft;
(2) destroys a civil aircraft registered in a country other than
the United States while such aircraft is in service or causes damage
to such an aircraft which renders that aircraft incapable of flight
or which is likely to endanger that aircraft's safety in flight;
(3) places or causes to be placed on a civil aircraft registered
in a country other than the United States while such aircraft is in
service, a device or substance which is likely to destroy that
aircraft, or to cause damage to that aircraft which renders that
aircraft incapable of flight or which is likely to endanger that
aircraft's safety in flight; or
(4) attempts or conspires to commit an offense described in
paragraphs (1) through (3) of this subsection;
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty
years, or both. There is jurisdiction over an offense under this
subsection if a national of the United States was on board, or would
have been on board, the aircraft; an offender is a national of the
United States; or an offender is afterwards found in the United States.
For purposes of this subsection, the term ``national of the United
States'' has the meaning prescribed in section 101(a)(22) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act.
(c) Whoever willfully imparts or conveys any threat to do an act
which would violate any of paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (a)
or any of paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (b) of this section,
with an apparent determination and will to carry the threat into
execution shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than
five years, or both.
(Added July 14, 1956, ch. 595, Sec. 1, 70 Stat. 539; amended Pub. L. 98-
473, title II, Sec. 2013(b), Oct. 12. 1984, 98 Stat. 2187; Pub. L. 100-
690, title VII, Sec. 7016, Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4395; Pub. L. 103-
322, title XXXIII, Sec. 330016(1)(O), (S), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat.
2148; Pub. L. 104-132, title VII, Secs. 721(b), 723(a)(1), Apr. 24,
1996, 110 Stat. 1298, 1300.)
References in Text
Section 101(a)(22) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, referred
to in subsec. (b), is classified to section 1101(a)(22) of Title 8,
Aliens and Nationality.
Amendments
1996--Subsec. (a)(7). Pub. L. 104-132, Sec. 723(a)(1), inserted ``or
conspires'' after ``attempts''.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 104-132, Sec. 721(b), in closing provisions,
struck out ``, if the offender is later found in the United States,''
before ``be fined under this title'' and inserted at end ``There is
jurisdiction over an offense under this subsection if a national of the
United States was on board, or would have been on board, the aircraft;
an offender is a national of the United States; or an offender is
afterwards found in the United States. For purposes of this subsection,
the term `national of the United States' has the meaning prescribed in
section 101(a)(22) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.''
Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 104-132, Sec. 723(a)(1), inserted ``or
conspires'' after ``attempts''.
1994--Subsecs. (a), (b). Pub. L. 103-322, Sec. 330016(1)(S),
substituted ``fined under this title'' for ``fined not more than
$100,000'' in concluding provisions.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103-322, Sec. 330016(1)(O), substituted ``fined
under this title'' for ``fined not more than $25,000''.
1988--Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 100-690 substituted ``interfering''
for ``intefering''.
1984--Pub. L. 98-473 amended section generally. Prior to amendment
section read as follows:
``Whoever willfully sets fire to, damages, destroys, disables, or
wrecks any civil aircraft used, operated, or employed in interstate,
overseas, or foreign air commerce; or
``Whoever willfully sets fire to, damages, destroys, disables, or
wrecks any aircraft engine, propeller, appliance, or spare part with
intent to damage, destroy, disable, or wreck any such aircraft; or
``Whoever, with like intent, willfully places or causes to be placed
any destructive substance in, upon, or in proximity to any such
aircraft, or any aircraft engine, propeller, appliance, spare part,
fuel, lubricant, hydraulic fluid, or other material used or intended to
be used in connection with the operation of any such aircraft, or any
cargo carried or intended to be carried on any such aircraft, or
otherwise makes or causes to be made any such aircraft, aircraft engine,
propeller, appliance, spare part, fuel, lubricant, hydraulic fluid, or
other material unworkable or unusable or hazardous to work or use; or
``Whoever, with like intent, willfully sets fire to, damages,
destroys, disables, or wrecks, or places or causes to be placed any
destructive substance in, upon, or in proximity to any shop, supply,
structure, station, depot, terminal, hangar, ramp, landing area, air-
navigation facility or other facility, warehouse, property, machine, or
apparatus used or intended to be used in connection with the operation,
loading, or unloading of any such aircraft or making any such aircraft
ready for flight, or otherwise makes or causes to be made any such shop,
supply, structure, station, depot, terminal, hangar, ramp, landing area,
air-navigation facility or other facility, warehouse, property, machine,
or apparatus unworkable or unusable or hazardous to work or use; or
``Whoever, with like intent, willfully incapacitates any member of
the crew of any such aircraft; or
``Whoever willfully attempts to do any of the aforesaid acts or
things--
``shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than
twenty years, or both.''
Effective Date of 1984 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 98-473 effective Oct. 12, 1984, see section
2015 of Pub. L. 98-473, set out as a note under section 31 of this
title.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 1956, 2332b, 2339, 2339A,
2516, 3592, 5032 of this title; title 49 section 44936.
