14 C.F.R. § 13.17 – Seizure of aircraft.

(a) The Chief Counsel, or a Regional Administrator for an aircraft within the region, may issue an order authorizing a State or Federal law enforcement officer or a Federal Aviation Administration safety inspector to seize an aircraft that is involved in a violation for which a civil penalty may be imposed on its owner or the individual commanding the aircraft.
(b) Each person seizing an aircraft under this section places it in the nearest available and adequate public storage facility in the judicial district in which it was seized.
(c) The Regional Administrator or Chief Counsel, without delay, sends a written notice and a copy of this section to the registered owner of the seized aircraft and to each other person shown by FAA records to have an interest in it, stating the—
1. (1) Time, date, and place of seizure;
2. (2) Name and address of the custodian of the aircraft;
3. (3) Reasons for the seizure, including the violations alleged or proven to have been committed; and
4. (4) Amount that may be tendered as—
  1. (i) A compromise of a civil penalty for the alleged violation; or
  2. (ii) Payment for a civil penalty imposed for a proven violation.
(d) The Chief Counsel or Assistant Chief Counsel for Enforcement immediately sends a report to the United States Attorney for the judicial district in which it was seized, requesting the United States Attorney to institute proceedings to enforce a lien against the aircraft.
(e) The Regional Administrator or Chief Counsel directs the release of a seized aircraft when—
1. (1) The alleged violator pays a civil penalty or an amount agreed upon in compromise, and the costs of seizing, storing, and maintaining the aircraft;
2. (2) The aircraft is seized under an order of a court of the United States in proceedings in rem initiated under 49 U.S.C. 46305 to enforce a lien against the aircraft;
3. (3) The United States Attorney General, or the delegate of the Attorney General, notifies the FAA that the United States Attorney General, or the delegate of the Attorney General, refuses to institute proceedings in rem under 49 U.S.C. 46305 to enforce a lien against the aircraft; or
4. (4) A bond in the amount and with the sureties prescribed by the Chief Counsel or the Assistant Chief Counsel for Enforcement is deposited, conditioned on payment of the penalty or the compromise amount, and the costs of seizing, storing, and maintaining the aircraft.