Mon, Jun 08, 2009
FBO Accuses City Of A Double Standard
The city's regulations for hangars at Arizona's Glendale
Airport clearly state: "No storage of equipment not necessary for
the maintenance/assembly of the hangared aircraft...No storage of
construction equipment or materials...There must be room for the
aircraft in the hangar at all times, even when the aircraft is
temporarily not located in the hangar."
But Valley Aviation Services, which owns a large number of
hangars at Glendale, says the city turns a blind eye to its own
regulations, and is bringing a lawsuit to stop it.
According to an investigative report on ABC15 Television in
Phoenix, Valley's hangars sit largely empty. The suit claims that
the city's hangars, on the north side of the airport, are filled
with everything from personal recreational vehicles to buses and
forklifts. The station even found an office, complete with a spiral
staircase in one of the hangars.
"We filed the lawsuit after 17 years of putting up with this
discriminatory unfair treatment," said owner George Van Houten.
FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said because the Glendale Airport has
received nearly $20 million in federal airport improvement funds
over the last 25 years, they have to follow federal regulations.
"Airports that accept federal grants cannot discriminate
economically against any tenant," Gregor said. "They are required
to treat tenants equally."
For its part, the City of Glendale responded only in a written
statement. "In 1999, Valley Aviation made the same allegations to
the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA found that Glendale's
leasing standards were reasonable, that there were no regulatory
infractions and that there was no unjust discrimination. The FAA
took no punitive action and marked the matter closed. We'll defend
this action in court as we did before the FAA."
Van Houten says these are new issues, and that he plans to file
a new complaint with the FAA.
More News
Airbus Racer Demonstrator Makes Inaugural Flight Airbus Helicopters' ambitious Racer demonstrator has achieved its inaugural flight as part of the Clean Sky 2 initiative, a corners>[...]
A little Bit Quieter, Said Testers, But in the End it's Still a DA40 Diamond Aircraft recently completed a little pilot project with Lufthansa Aviation Training, putting a pair of >[...]
Line Up And Wait (LUAW) Used by ATC to inform a pilot to taxi onto the departure runway to line up and wait. It is not authorization for takeoff. It is used when takeoff clearance >[...]
Contributing To The Accident Was The Pilot’s Use Of Methamphetamine... Analysis: The pilot departed on a local flight to perform low-altitude maneuvers in a nearby desert val>[...]
From 2015 (YouTube Version): Overcoming Obstacles To Achieve Their Dreams… At EAA AirVenture 2015, FedEx arrived with one of their Airbus freight-hauling aircraft and placed>[...]
Airbus Racer Helicopter Demonstrator First Flight Part of Clean Sky 2 Initiative
See All