Say School Doesn't Have Enough Instructors, Helos

An Arizona helicopter flight school is under the legal gun.

A suit filed last month in federal court by nine former students names Silver State Helicopters of Mesa, AZ. The plaintiffs allege ads run by the school say students can earn a rotary-wing certificate in 12 to 18 months, and then get a job as an instructor.

Silver State’s website says its target student is a working adult, and promises it can accommodate almost any schedule to meet that goal. But that’s the problem, says the plaintiffs... it can’t.

The suit alleges the school doesn’t have enough instructors or helicopters.

Joe Hinton, one of the nine plaintiffs, says he has been training with Silver State for three years, racking up $58,000 in debt in the process. He says when he was available, he couldn’t get on the school’s or his instructor’s schedule.

"I thought I'd be making this high-paying pilot job. Instead, I'm going to be in a world of hurt, financially," Hinton, a paralegal for the Maricopa County attorney, told the Arizona Republic. "It wasn't anything like this intensive flying every day program they promised. It's a load of crap."

"They just weren't scheduling me," Hinton added. "They didn't have the people or the equipment to do it. My instructor, he was so booked, from sunup to sun-down that he couldn't fit me in."

Silver State’s lawyers blame the nine plaintiffs' lack of scheduling flexibility.

"I know we have people graduating in the time frames that we say in the presentation," attorney Mark Cook said. "There are a number of people that take longer. But the typical helicopter student isn't 18 years old, and has a lot of obligations."

The school has already faced similar suits in Montana and California. The court dismissed the California suit... and a motion to dismiss is pending for the one in Montana.

FMI: http://silverstatehelicopters.com/