But CL-600's Owner Wasn't The Operator

Sometimes the price of aircraft ownership is higher than merely the cost of buying, maintaining and fueling the plane. Sometimes, there are fines -- even if you didn't break the rules.

Such could soon be the case with Dallas-based DDH Aviation. One of the two aircraft owned by technology mogul Darwin Deason, a Canadair CL-600 Challenger, ran off the end of the runway and crashed into a warehouse next to the airport in Teterboro, NJ, last February. As ANN reported two weeks ago, the FAA has ordered aircraft operator, Platinum Jet Management, to pay a $1.8 million fine. But the fine might ultimately have to be paid by DDH -- which is already suing Platinum over the mishap -- saying the management company didn't follow FAA rules prior to the crash.

But since the subjects of some of the fines are the aircraft themselves, if Platinum can't pay, the owner will, according to a report in the Dallas Business Journal.

FAA Cracks Down On Bootleggers

At issue is a new FAA crackdown on illegal charter operators commonly called "bootleggers." These under-the-radar charter companies use loopholes in FAA regulations to circumvent requirements for strict maintenance record-keeping, pilot training and drug-testing.

"There is a wide gap in the maintenance, pilot training and insurance held by the various charter companies," aviation attorney David Sanger told the Business Journal. Sanger is involved in lawsuits spawning from the Teterboro mishap. "I know for a fact that there are charter operations in [Dallas and Fort Worth] that have an excellent maintenance program and excellent pilot training. They are the most expensive. Others are cutting every corner that they can."

"The Teterboro crash raised the ugly specter that people are setting up a situation where they are purporting to operate under the regulations, but they're not," said another aviation lawyer, David Norton of Dallas. Those companies are "renting" FAR Part 135 certificates from the real holders -- a violation of regulations. In the case of the February mishap in Teterboro, Platinum had rented the Part 135 certificate belonging to Alabama-based Darby Aviation. Darby has since been grounded as a result.

Norton sits on an advisory committee charged with recommending changes in FAR Part 135 -- changes aimed at cracking down on illegal and unsafe operators. The committee is to release its recommendations later this summer.

FMI: www.faa.gov