Agency Orders $1.8 Million Fine In TEB Mishap

The FAA has ordered Platinum Jet Management to pay a $1.8 million fine in the wake of a February 2nd mishap at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, accusing the company of bypassing safety regulations and altering records on the aircraft's weight and balance prior to the flight.

The North Jersey Record obtained a copy of the letter after a request to the FAA.

As ANN reported in real-time February 2nd, the Bombardier CL-600 Challenger rolled across the end of the runway, through a fence, across a highway and into a factory. Remarkably, none of the 11 people involved died in the mishap.

Platinum, grounded by the FAA in March because the FAA said it wasn't licensed to operate as a charter carrier, simply leased another firm's charter certificate. In that way, it could go around requirements on training, drug screening and maintenance.

The FAA has also revoked the charter ticket of Darby Aviation, the Alabama-based company that leased its charter certificate to Platinum.

Aside from allegations of inadequate training, the FAA accused Platinum of faking the weight and balance records, indicating the flight was carrying 3,000 pounds of fuel when, in reality, it was carrying 4,500 pounds of Jet-A.

The NTSB cited weight as a possible factor in the mishap. But the pilots and Platinum's attorney, Michael Moulis, said that wasn't a factor after all. The aircraft simply needed more speed on its take-off roll to compensate for the extra weight, they said.

"[The pilots] knew they were heavy," Moulis said during an earlier interview
 with The Record. "These planes, even though it says they've exceeded maximum gross weight, people do it all the time -- you just add a little more maximum speed."

Flight simulations of the take-off scenario indicated that the aircraft wouldn't have gotten off the ground at normal speed.

The FAA is also going after two other firms that owned Platinum-operated aircraft.

FMI: www.faa.gov