Group Formed To Pressure Thielert AG, Diamond Aircraft

Reeling from uncertainty surrounding the insolvency of German aircraft engine manufacturer Thielert AG, owners of Thielert-powered aircraft have organized and retained German legal counsel to represent their interests.

The Thielert Engine Owners Group (THENOG) was formed last week to protect the investment of nearly 1,000 affected aircraft owners, including about 900 owner/operators of DA42 twin-engine and DA40 tdi single-engine aircraft. Nearly 50 percent of those aircraft are currently grounded... and nearly all may be rendered uneconomical to operate, depending on the outcome of the Thielert situation.

"Owner/operators of Thielert-powered aircraft have been treated to a horror-show of bad news over the last three weeks, including the unexpected and sudden cancellation of engine warranties, quadrupled engine-part prices, a variety of service bulletins on the engines that force early engine repairs and replacements and uncertainty over parts supplies," the group tells Aero-News.

"Over the past three weeks, owners have found the cost of Thielert engine maintenance rising by as much as 800% and have received confusing and contradictory messages about parts availability. As a result, many users have been forced to mothball their aircraft till further notice."

Unexpected and unanticipated economic losses from the aircraft groundings are currently totaling about $1 million (US) per week, said Todd House, a founder and director of the group, who is President of YourJet LLC, a startup air-taxi company in Louisville, KY that currently operates a DA42 aircraft.

Complicating matters is an acrimonious and public battle of charges and counter-charges between Thielert, and Diamond Aircraft, the largest manufacturer of Thielert-powered airplanes.

"Diamond and Thielert have engaged in a war of words, while afflicted aircraft owners watched helplessly from the sidelines," House said. "That all changes now."

"It is our goal to establish THENOG as a substantial creditor to Thielert due to the cumulative value of warranty agreements for our engines, said Vilis Ositis a THENOG founder and board member. "When the value of our warranties is established to the court we expect to earn a seat on the creditor's committee. Given the number of owners we already represent we expect to have a strong vote on the committee that will allow us to direct the outcome of the insolvency," Ositis said.

To that end, THENOG has retained legal counsel in Hamburg to represent engine-owners as a group and to obtain creditor status for them during the insolvency proceedings. "With hundreds of aircraft being effectively held to ransom by the actions of the Thielert administrator we have had no choice but to band together to create the legal and political pressure on Thielert (and Diamond) to resolve this issue speedily and professionally," European THENOG board member Peter Bondar added.

Thielert-powered aircraft owners can now participate in the process by registering their interest and assigning their power of attorney at the Thielert Engine Owners Group website. House believes that strength in numbers will help achieve the goal of getting the engines and the affected aircraft flying again.

"THENOG is now a global effort to join all Thielert engine owners in this common cause to take our place at the negotiation table and in the courtroom to protect our interests, our businesses, and, ultimately, our safety," he said.

FMI: www.thenog.org