Man Continues Fight Over Concord Airport Hangar Space
Kent Ashton has been fighting to keep his airplane at the Concord Regional Airport for about five years now, and he's lost pretty much every battle from state to federal court.
But he's still going at it.
In the U.S. Court of Appeals' District of Columbia Circuit this week, the retired Air Force officer filed an appeal of the latest Federal Aviation Administration decision supporting the city of Concord. The city, which operates the airport, evicted Ashton from his hangar in 1999, saying he failed to follow airport rules.
Ashton, who flies an experimental plane built from foam and fiberglass, claims the airport discriminates against aviation hobbyists and small aircraft pilots who want to build or service their planes. Instead, he says, the airport favors owners of business aircraft and jets.
The airport has unlawfully denied his right to lease space at the airport, Ashton says, yet his suits and counterclaims have failed on numerous levels. In fact, he paid the city about $28,000 in attorney fees after the courts ruled his claims were frivolous.
"We have prevailed at every level this has been heard at both the state and federal levels," City Manager Brian Hiatt said.
Ashton's latest appeal to the FAA says the agency didn't seriously investigate his claims. He supports his argument with several points outlining the airport's unfair treatment in granting, what he calls, exclusive leasing rights to certain people.
In 2000, the appeal says, the airport bypassed people on a waiting list for hangar space and rented a hangar to someone who wasn't on the list.
Ashton said he's not sure when a decision will be made.
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