This seems to be a thing again in 3.3. [sad]
Just visited Didi Vatermann and saw somebody getting a Wanted tag (and getting the poop shot out of them) while trying to destroy an NPC that was blocking their landing pad.
Apparently they'd tried mode-switching but the pad was blocked in every mode.
If you arrive at a surface installation and get allocated a pad that's got an NPC sitting on it, cancel the docking request, land on any flat area, deploy your SRV*, dismiss your ship, request docking in the usual way (using the regular "contacts" HUD and not your SRV HUD) and then follow your compass to your allocated boarding ramp - whereupon you'll be able to board your ship, which has magically arrived there and is waiting for you.
This also comes in handy if you have a cargo of stuff that you might not, necessarily, want the installation to scan but you'll have to land your ship a couple of km from the base to ensure you're not scanned.
That is all.
* If you don't have an SRV, I'm afraid you're hooped but I can't think of everything.
Just visited Didi Vatermann and saw somebody getting a Wanted tag (and getting the poop shot out of them) while trying to destroy an NPC that was blocking their landing pad.
Apparently they'd tried mode-switching but the pad was blocked in every mode.
If you arrive at a surface installation and get allocated a pad that's got an NPC sitting on it, cancel the docking request, land on any flat area, deploy your SRV*, dismiss your ship, request docking in the usual way (using the regular "contacts" HUD and not your SRV HUD) and then follow your compass to your allocated boarding ramp - whereupon you'll be able to board your ship, which has magically arrived there and is waiting for you.
This also comes in handy if you have a cargo of stuff that you might not, necessarily, want the installation to scan but you'll have to land your ship a couple of km from the base to ensure you're not scanned.
That is all.
* If you don't have an SRV, I'm afraid you're hooped but I can't think of everything.