Left Indonesian Students Stranded When School Suddenly Closed Its Doors

A group of two dozen Indonesian flight school students who had signed up for training at Accessible Aviation International and California Flight Center in Long Beach, CA found themselves in the middle of what looks like a scam when the offices of the school were suddenly vacated.

The students had paid as much as $55,000 for their training, housing and insurance, according to a report from KABC-TV. The owner of the building where the school was located said the school's operator, Mac Patel, had emptied out the offices of everything but a flight simulator when he was unable to pay the rent.

Patel told the station that he was offering a partial refund to the students, but they say Patel has had no communications with them.

The problems with the school reportedly began in June when a student was involved in an accident. She survived, but that's when Feranita Gusnaidy found that the school had not provided the promised insurance. Meanwhile, students have gotten notices from the downtown Los Angeles housing complex where they are living that the rent is due.

A third issue is the status of their student visas. They wonder if they will be forced to leave the country with the issues unresolved if the school that had sponsored them no longer exists.

Federal authorities, including the FAA and the Department of Homeland Security, are looking into whether Patel broke any laws governing flight schools and if there is any threat to national security since foreign students were involved.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.dhs.gov