Sun, Feb 08, 2004
Kelleys Island Mayor Faces FAA Investigation
The question is this: Did the mayor of Kelleys Island (OH) fly
passengers for hire? If so, then the problem is this: he's not
properly certificated to do so.
"That’s really part of what the investigation is about,"
said Elizabeth Isham Corey, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation
Administration. "That’s one of many things."
The mayor in question is Robert Quinn, elected to office three
years ago. He's also a private pilot. Questions about exactly what
sort of rides Quinn was giving passengers came up after one of
them, Bradley Underwood, walked into the propeller of a Cessna 206
on January 15th. The aircraft is owned by Kellstone, Inc., a
company that operates a local ferry service across Lake Erie to
Kelleys Island. The company also runs a quarrying operation. For
much of the year, quarry workers ride the ferry for free. But when
the lake ices over and makes ferry travel virtually impossible,
quarry workers get to and from the island by air.
Enter Mayor Quinn.
While the Blade reports Quinn has
his own aircraft, he uses Kellstone's 206 (file photo of type,
right) to get himself and workers to and from the island. The FAA
now wants to know if the use of the Kellstone aircraft and the
transport of Kellstone passengers makes the flights commercial.
"It is somewhat of a gray area and it is being investigated,"
said Tom Griffing, whose company flies to Kelleys Island. "It
depends on how they choose to define the term
‘compensation.’"
One of the passengers on the January 15th flight, Kellstone
employee Jeff Gordon, says Quinn isn't compensated for his flights
to and from the mainland. He says the mayor flies workers because
scheduled air service is too expensive.
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