Clearwater's Avanatir voluntarily grounds its fleet of planes for safety reasons

 CLEARWATER — Avantair, a company that offers customers the chance to own shares of private planes at a fraction of the cost of buying their own jet, has grounded its entire fleet.

Avantair, which operates its "fractional ownership" business out of St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport, said in a statement Thursday that it grounded its aircraft and hired experts to inspect its fleet of almost 60 Piaggio Avanti aircraft and review all of the company's maintenance records.

The voluntary stand-down was done in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration, the company said.

"For the past week, we have been undertaking extensive inspections of our fleet and our operating procedures," said Avantair's CEO, Steven Santo, in a prepared statement. "These inspections and other actions are still underway."

The FAA's only statement on the matter is that the agency "has not taken enforcement action against Avantair."

An Avantair spokesman was not immediately able address whether the company has laid off or furloughed employees during the stand-down, when service will be restored and what the company is doing for its customers.

Avantair said it hired safety expert Nick Sabatini, a former FAA official, to oversee the review of its aircraft and records.

According to Aviation International News, Avantair started grounding its fleet on last Saturday. The article said Avantair's decision to ground its fleet was linked to a July 28 incident involving one of the company's Piaggio P180s that landed in Nevada without its left tail elevator.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board report on that incident, the Avantair flight took off from Camarillo Airport in California, picked up two passengers in San Diego, then landed at Henderson Executive Airport in Nevada.

After landing, the report said, crew members inspected the plane and discovered the left elevator missing from the tail. The elevator helps control the plane's pitch, allowing the pilots to aim the nose up or down.

Two crew members and two passengers aboard the plane were not injured, according to the NTSB report, but the plane "was substantially damaged." The crew noticed nothing unusual during takeoff, the report said, but the captain reported more "back pressure" affecting the flight controls during landing, according to the report.

The NTSB report said that the Piaggio P180 had been flying without the left tail elevator at least since it first took off that day from Camarillo. Airport personnel there found the elevator near a runway on July 31.

"We know this is an extremely difficult period for our loyal employees and frustrating to our devoted owners," Santo said in the statement. "We are grateful for their understanding and patience as we work through this important process. We are confident we are laying the groundwork necessary to offer outstanding service and reliability going forward."

The "fractional ownership" business model allows customers to buy shares of the company's private planes, which allows them to be flown where and when they want. Avantair said it's a cheaper option than a company owning its own jet or chartering one. Avantair is also the only fractional air service that uses the Piaggio's rear-facing, turbo-prop engines that the company said burns less fuel than conventional private jets.

Avanatir has more than 500 employees and offers fractional air service across North America and the Caribbean. In 2010, the company showed off its new control center at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport to the Tampa Bay Times. Three 200-inch projection screens helped employees direct about 80 flights a day.

The article said the price of a 2½-hour flight to New York was about $6,500. 

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