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.
http://www.tampabay.com
No comments:
Post a Comment