বিমান প্রত্নতত্ত্ব

বিমান ধ্বংসস্থানের আইনগত সুরক্ষা অত্যন্ত পরিবর্তনশীল। বিমান মালিকানা দ্বারা সুরক্ষা নিরিখে মার্কিন নৌসেনা সব নৌ বিমানের অনির্দিষ্ট মালিকানা রেখেছে, স্থলজ বা নিমজ্জিত সব ধ্বংসস্থান সহ।[7] যদি না মানুষের দেহাবশেষ বা অস্ত্রসম্ভার ধ্বংসস্থানে অবশেষ থাকে, মার্কিন এয়ার ফোর্সের প্রাচীন বিমান ধ্বংসস্থানে ঝামেলা করার কোন নিয়ম নেই। প্রাচীন সামরিক বিমান সহ প্রাচীন বিমান, যেগুলি সাধারণত ধ্বংসাবস্থায় পরিত্যক্ত বলে মনে করা হয়, ধ্বংসস্থান এবং সব বিষয়বস্তুযুক্ত জমি সুরক্ষা আইনের আওতায় এসে পড়ে। সাংস্কৃতিক ঐতিহ্য সুরক্ষা আইনের ভাষা বিমান নির্দিষ্ট নয়, তাই বিমান উড়ানস্থান সংক্রান্ত সব সুরক্ষা আইন ব্যাখ্যার উপর নির্ভর করে। অবশ্য বেশিরভাগ যুক্তরাষ্ট্রীয় ও রাজ্য আইন সাংস্কৃতিক সম্পদের বর্ণনা ব্যাপারে স্পষ্ট, যেমন 'বস্তু, সাইট, বা অন্যথায়, ঐতিহাসিক মূল্যের'[8][9] বা 'সামরিক বা সামাজিক ইতিহাস'[10] এবং সময় সীমা পঞ্চাশ বছরের বেশি বিবেচনা করা হয়। যদি একটি বিমান ধ্বংসাবশেষ পঞ্চাশ বছরের বেশি হয়ে যায়, যাতে দ্বিতীয় বিশ্বযুদ্ধের থেকে সব বিমান ধ্বংসাবশেষ অন্তর্ভুক্ত, এবং অধুনা যুক্তরাষ্ট্রীয় জমিতে ধ্বংস হয়েছে, সেইসব স্থান স্বয়ংক্রিয়ভাবে ন্যাশনাল পার্ক সার্ভিস আইন 36CFR2.1[11]-এর অধীনে বিনা অনুমতিতে কোন ধরনের ঝামেলা থেকে সুরক্ষিত। যুক্তরাষ্ট্রীয় জমি উপর ধ্বংসস্থান ১৯৬৬ সালের জাতীয় ঐতিহাসিক সংরক্ষণ আইনের অধীনে নিরূপণভাবে সংরক্ষিত রয়েছে। এই আইন অনুসারে সব ঐতিহাসিক ধ্বংসস্থানকে ঝামেলা এড়াতে অনুচ্ছেদ 106 পর্যালোচনা অতিক্রম করতে হবে ঐতিহাসিক স্থানসমূহ জাতীয় নিবন্ধন (National Register of Historical Places) দ্বারা যোগ্যতা নির্ধারণার্থে। জাতীয় উদ্যান, জাতীয় বন, জাতীয় সামুদ্রিক অভয়ারণ্য ও দেশের ইঞ্জিনিয়ার্স মার্কিন যুক্তরাষ্ট্র আর্মি কর্পস (United States Army Corps of Engineers)-এর মালিকানাধীন জমি যুক্তরাষ্ট্রীয় জমির অন্তর্ভুক্ত। বিমান সাইট, উদাহরণস্বরূপ প্রস্তাবিত মহাসড়কের ধারে বিমানবন্দরে বা বিমান ধ্বংসস্থানে একটি বিমান বিশ্রামস্থল, অবিলম্বে অনুচ্ছেদ 106 পর্যালোচনার বিষয় যদি তারা এমন একটি প্রকল্প দ্বারা উপদ্রৃত হয় যাতে একটি যুক্তরাষ্ট্রীয় পারমিটের প্রয়োজন হয় অথবা ফেডারেল তহবিল ব্যবহার করা হয়। অধিকাংশ ক্ষেত্রে, রাজ্য ঐতিহাসিক সংরক্ষণ অফিসার (State Historic Preservation Officer) নির্ধারণ করেন কোনো বিমান ধ্বংসস্থান নিবন্ধনযোগ্য কিনা।

The National Register deems aviation wreck sites as “any aircraft that has been crashed, ditched, damaged, stranded, or abandoned”.[12] It designates the protection terms for aviation history sites as well, including abandoned airfields or facilities sites, testing or experimental sites, land or water air terminals, or airway beacons and navigational aids.

State lands protection laws vary widely across the nation but the language describing a historical resource is the same as federal laws. Therefore, aviation properties and aircraft wrecks on State lands can be protected under various environmental, public resource, and historical property laws as outlined per state for the protection of archaeological and historic resources. Any archaeological survey, excavation, or activity that disturbs wither wreck or aviation property remains can, in some cases, be permitted on federal and state lands under a permitting process through the regulating entity. If an aircraft wreck, or the remains of any aviation property, is located on private land it is not automatically protected by any federal, state, or local law and any survey or excavation work must be permitted by the land owner.

Under the 'Sunken Military Craft Act’ (SMCA) of 2004, it is illegal to disturb, remove, or injure the wreck sites or associated contents of U.S. Naval or any submerged military aircraft.[13] The act identifies military craft as including any sunken military aircraft or military spacecraft that was owned or operated by a government when it sank, and includes the associated contents. Because of the U.S. Navy’s retaining of ownership of all military craft, the act applies to any U.S. Navy aircraft, even if in international or other country’s territorial waters. The act also applies to any foreign military craft in U.S. territorial waters. Persons wishing to conduct archaeological or research exploration of any submerged military aircraft can apply to the Naval History and Heritage Command’s Underwater Archaeology Branch for a permit. The SMCA includes penalties associated with any unauthorized disturbances of sunken military craft as a fine and a liability for the reasonable costs incurred in recovery of archaeological or cultural information, storage, restoration, care, maintenance, and conservation.

As a part of federal air regulations, NTSB Part 830, protects any aircraft whose accident cause is under investigation.[14][15] NTSB officials will routinely seize portions of wrecked aircraft for further analysis. Most of the time, after their study is complete, the sequestered debris is returned to the owners' representation - most often the aircraft's insurance company. However, examples like the reconstructed wreckage of TWA Flight 800 are held in perpetuity by the NTSB to education the public and future investigators on the NTSB's role in transportation safety.

The laws in the UK cover the remains of all aircraft which have crashed during military service (land or sea) are protected by the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986. This Act defines an offence of tampering with, damage to, moving, or unearthing the aircraft remains. Exceptions apply to those holding licences, which can be issued by the Secretary of State, authorising specific procedures to be performed.

For the wreck-chasing hobbyist there is a self-regulating body, the British Aviation Archaeological Council (BAAC),[16] which defines ethical standards of behaviour, coordinates activities and provides a forum for discussion for its member groups. Not all active groups in the UK are members of this organisation.

Aviation history sites on land that can be subject to archaeological survey or excavation can include airports (which can contain hangars, terminal, other facilities, etc.), crash sites, monuments, or even properties associated with important persons or events in aviation history. Some examples of potential and current archaeological sites:

The Loon Lake B-23 Dragon crash site in Payette National Forest, Idaho is a remarkably intact example of an aircraft wreck. The crew survived and was rescued, and some avionics removed from the site, and it currently is the subject of a teaching aviation archaeology field school in various years.

Arlington Auxiliary Army Airfield: high view from the SW corner of the triangular runway[17] looking WNW, Arlington, CO, 2006

Arlington Airfield: E/W runway looking west, notice the large sections of asphalt and the vegetation changes along and on the runway, 2006

Abandoned airfields can yield much information of historic information about aviation and related industries. From civilian airfields to military airfields, aviation archaeologists can find, uncover, and recover a variety of artifacts, just to name a few: aircraft parts with serial numbers, equipment parts, asphalt or runway material, variety of contamination, structures and foundations, businesses and economics, to community and cultural changes. With the closure of a military airbase, the street system and runways become local expansion of city streets and business; one example is the community conversion of Lowry Air Force Base to a local residential, commercial, and educational environment. Other bases, like the Arlington Auxiliary Army Airfield reverted to farming and ranching.

In 1990, 1994, and 1998, archaeologists investigated, using airborne remote sensing studies and limited excavation, a vintage hangar of the Huffman Prairie Flying Field Site at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The investigations were “designed to provide information needed for site management by Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park of the National Park Service. The geophysical and remote sensing investigations revealed magnetic, electromagnetic, and ground penetrating radar anomalies and infrared thermal images associated with the hangar structure. The archaeological excavations located an in situ wood post, posthole features, and artifacts which represent archaeological remains of the actual hangar”.[18] Huffman Prairie Flying Field is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Another example is Hamilton Army Airfield in Novato, California. It was in use from 1929 until 1976. It was eventually turned over to the city of Novato for development of housing. The runway is also part of tidal wetland restoration effort currently underway by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, California Coastal Conservancy, and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission.

California has missile launch sites abandoned by the US Army.[19] Archaeological research includes these sites throughout the United States. Exploring and hiking around abandoned silos and sites may constitute trespassing as well as being dangerous.[20] Permission from current land owners or caretakers is imperative. Research and formal site investigations adds to the historical record of the Cold War. One such site is the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site.[21]

In the Golden Gate National Recreation Area is a decommissioned Cold War era Nike Missile base, Nike Missile Site SF-88. In 1954, it was armed with Nike Ajax missiles. In 1958, it was converted to Nike Hercules nuclear missiles. After it was shut down in 1974, it was turned over to the National Park Service. It is now open for tours on the first Saturday of every month from 12:30-3:30.

A B-29 "Superfortress" Serial No. 45-21847 ditched in Lake Mead in 1949. This particular aircraft is listed in the National Register under Criterion C as an example of a significant type of aircraft construction and under Criterion D for it potential to yield important information.

The remains of the USS Macon Airship and its associated F9C Sparrowhawks are located at around 1500 feet in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has run survey expeditions to the site, creating photomosaics to track deterioration. The wreck site is listed on the National Register.

The Australian focus has been on underwater aviation archaeology,[23] partly as a result of the interest of the relatively large number of maritime archaeologists and shipwreck conservators in the field. This has resulted in numerous studies and reports, including some cross-fertilization or ideas, theory and techniques with practitioners in other parts of the world, with a strong emphasis on the involvement of conservators.[24] Underwater aviation archaeology commenced in Australia at the wrecks of the Dornier, Catalina, and Sunderland Flying Boats destroyed by Japanese fighters at Broome in WWII. These lie, both in the intertidal zone, and in deeper water.[25] The study continued in Darwin in the Northern Territory with research and fieldwork at its series of submerged PBY Catalina wrecks,[26] Subsequently, the study has spread to other regions in Australia, partly as a result of the Interest of Flinders University and its postgraduate student body.[27] While military aircraft remain the property of their respective governments unless delegated to a third party, submerged aircraft wrecks (such as the wrecks at Broome in Western Australia), have proven to be quite difficult to protect from unauthorized recoveries and looting. Those in Broome are now protected under the provisions of the 1990 Heritage of Western Australia Act.[28]

On April 17 & 18, 2010, a group of aviation archaeology professionals, avocational and interested persons met in Broomfield, Colorado at the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport for a two-day summit. The attendees came from Arizona, California, Canada, Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, and Oklahoma representing the interests of wreck chasers, aircraft recovery teams, and avocational archaeologists. The North American Aviation Archaeology Summit was conducted and sponsored by the North American Institute of Aviation Archaeology[31] and Colorado Aviation Historical Society's Aviation Archaeology Program's Staff. Some of the attendees had also attended the 2009 Symposium at Moffett Field. The group discussed all aspects of aviation archaeology, wreck chasing, recovery, modern archaeology techniques, ethics, education, training, hobby enthusiasts, and professional interests. Breakout sessions, consensus, and voting occurred to determine the Summit outcome. The Summit created an organization initially representing the United States and Canada, now to be called: Aviation Archaeology and Heritage Association, and with full agreement to expand and include all nations interested in aviation archaeology and wreck chasing.[31][32]