Unfazed by pressure from various aviation alphabet groups concerned about the “criminalization” of aircraft accidents, a French court this week found a Continental Airlines mechanic guilty of involuntary manslaughter for his role in the July 25, 2000, crash of an Air France Concorde outside Paris.
Law
November 30, 2010 - 10:29am
Michael Brassington, president, CEO and cofounder of now-defunct Platinum Jet Management, and his brother Paul Brassington, a v-p and cofounder, were convicted on November 15 of “offenses arising from a conspiracy to commit continuous willful violations of regulatory requirements for the operation of commercial charter aircraft.” The jury verdict against the Brassingtons came after nearly four days of deliberations following a four-week trial
November 30, 2010 - 3:50am
Members of the Schweizer family claim Sikorsky short-changed them on the 2004 purchase of their helicopter company and are suing to recover $2.8 million. According to the lawsuit, Sikorsky parent United Technologies paid $12 million for the Elmira, N.Y.-based company with promises of up to $10 to $14 million more once certain program progress goals were met and two crash lawsuits were settled.
November 29, 2010 - 10:39am
Emivest Aerospace’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization filing on October 20 revealed that the company has until January 14 to find a buyer or could face Chapter 7 liquidation. Any prospective buyer of the manufacturer of the SJ30 light jet would have until February 4 to close the deal.
November 23, 2010 - 11:26am
Last week Sikorsky sought to quash a federal lawsuit brought by the Schweizer family that charges the Stratford, Conn.-based company with reneging on the terms of its 2004 purchase of Schweizer Aircraft, builder of light helicopters, surveillance aircraft and unmanned drones. Schweizer acquired the production rights to the Hughes 300-series helicopters from McDonnell Douglas in 1986.
November 16, 2010 - 11:11am
Platinum Jet chief pilot and cofounder Michael Brassington and his brother, Paul Brassington, a vice president and cofounder of the company, were convicted yesterday of “conspiracy to commit continuous willful violations of regulatory requirements for the operation of commercial charter aircraft,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
November 9, 2010 - 11:07am
In the ongoing trial of Platinum Jet executives in Newark, N.J., a U.S. district judge took the unusual step last week of dismissing charges against one of the three men–former director of maintenance Brien McKenzie–saying the prosecution failed to prove its case against him.
October 28, 2010 - 7:53am
A California congressman has picked up the cudgel in the mistaken detention at gunpoint of John and Martha King of King Schools on August 28, and the incident prompted him to join the House GA Caucus.
October 27, 2010 - 6:48am
After losing its case against charter operator Air Trek of Punta Gorda, Fla., in March, the FAA petitioned the NTSB for reconsideration in an attempt to avoid having to pay $121,991.34 in attorney fees to Air Trek.
October 20, 2010 - 2:01pm
Members of the Florida Aviation Trades Association learned recently that the Third District Court (Miami) has issued a ruling that will significantly affect the recourse available to the maintenance industry when faced with a non-paying customer.
Previously, a repair facility could put a lien on the aircraft when it perceived the customer would not pay the bill regardless of who was in possession of the aircraft.
