But CL-600's Owner Wasn't The Operator
Sometimes the price of aircraft ownership is higher than merely
the cost of buying, maintaining and fueling the plane. Sometimes,
there are fines -- even if you didn't break the rules.
Such could soon be the case with Dallas-based DDH Aviation.
One of the two aircraft owned by technology mogul
Darwin Deason, a Canadair CL-600 Challenger, ran off the end of the
runway and crashed into a warehouse next to the airport in
Teterboro, NJ, last February. As ANN reported two weeks ago, the
FAA has ordered aircraft operator, Platinum Jet Management, to pay
a $1.8 million fine. But the fine might
ultimately have to be paid by DDH -- which is already suing
Platinum over the mishap -- saying the management company didn't
follow FAA rules prior to the crash.
But since the subjects of some of the fines are the aircraft
themselves, if Platinum can't pay, the owner will, according to a
report in the Dallas Business Journal.
FAA Cracks Down On Bootleggers
At issue is a new FAA crackdown on illegal charter operators
commonly called "bootleggers." These under-the-radar charter
companies use loopholes in FAA regulations to circumvent
requirements for strict maintenance record-keeping, pilot training
and drug-testing.
"There is a wide gap in the
maintenance, pilot training and insurance held by the various
charter companies," aviation attorney David Sanger told the
Business Journal. Sanger is involved in lawsuits spawning from the
Teterboro mishap. "I know for a fact that there are charter
operations in [Dallas and Fort Worth] that have an excellent
maintenance program and excellent pilot training. They are the most
expensive. Others are cutting every corner that they can."
"The Teterboro crash raised the ugly specter that people are
setting up a situation where they are purporting to operate under
the regulations, but they're not," said another aviation lawyer,
David Norton of Dallas. Those companies are "renting" FAR Part 135
certificates from the real holders -- a violation of regulations.
In the case of the February mishap in Teterboro, Platinum had
rented the Part 135 certificate belonging to Alabama-based Darby
Aviation. Darby has since been grounded as a result.
Norton sits on an advisory committee charged with recommending
changes in FAR Part 135 -- changes aimed at cracking down on
illegal and unsafe operators. The committee is to release its
recommendations later this summer.