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.

FMI: www.faa.gov