‘Grim Reaper' Expects To Net 100 Planes This Year

Economic hard times are having a profound effect on aircraft owners, particularly among those only marginally able to afford them in the first place.

"You cannot own an airplane without it costing money, whether you're using it or not," said Terence Haglund, an aviation lawyer based in Williamsburg, VA. That said, things are picking up in the aircraft repossession business.

Dubbed by friends as the "Grim Reaper," 66-year-old aircraft dealer and pilot Ken Hill of Santa Barbara, CA has repossessed hundreds of aircraft since he began in the trade in 1969. "I'm busy, always on the move, up early in the morning, late to bed at night," Hill told The New York Times. "My wife never asks me where I'm going. She just says, ‘Call me when you're there, and tell me where you are.' "

Hill's last business trip resulted in the recovery of 12 aircraft scattered over eight states. Armed with a propeller lock, a portable radio, a hand-held GPS, and a fanny pack filled with hundreds of master keys, his current excursion is likely to last from 30 to 45 days and yield 27 repossessions – his largest haul in 40 years.

Ranging from single-engine Piper trainers to Gulfstream bizjets, Hill said he usually averages about 30 repossessions a year. In 2008, Hill retrieved 50 aircraft, but said this year "it could be 100." Working with a small staff, Hill does all the research, tracking, tracing, repossessing and flying himself.

With a reputation for always getting his plane, Hill usually works for lending institutions that specialize in aircraft loans. One of Hill's top clients is Sovereign Bank. Joseph J. Dini, senior vice president of the bank's aircraft loans group said, "We use Ken because he's full of integrity and he's a cooperative kind of guy. He's performing a service for financial institutions that requires a certain amount of delicateness."

By the time Hill is called into the picture, borrowers are usually 60 days or more behind in their loan payments. Dini said many people who get behind "will default on other loans first. They think, 'Things will turn around, things will get better, why give up the airplane?' "

Unlike the auto repo business, taking possession of a plane isn't as simple as the strereotype of stealthily towing cars away in the dead of night. Hill first examines logbooks when they're available, and then has the plane checked out by a mechanic before departing. "I'll do a thorough preflight inspection and make sure there are blue skies all the way," he said. "I won't expose the bank to more problems than it has."

Sometimes the repo process goes relatively painlessly, especially when the owner realizes that simply surrendering the plane is their best option. Others choose to cough up the delinquent funds, in which case Hill simply charges his client for his expenses. Hill recounted one instance where an owner even cleaned the plane's windshield and offered him a home-cooked meal.

On the other hand, some cases are more demanding, even dangerous. "I once had a lady chase me through a hangar with a yard rake," he said. "I just tell them, 'I have a job to do.' If they did what they were supposed to do, I wouldn't be here."

FMI: www.busaircraft.com