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Flight School Closings Strand 2,700 Students

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By TED JACKOVICS and KEITH MORELLI, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 5, 2008

LAKELAND - A nationwide helicopter flight school with operations in four Florida cities, including Lakeland, said Monday that it ceased operating and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.

Silver State Helicopters' sudden closure Sunday night left 2,700 students at its 32 U.S. flight academies wondering about their training investments and career plans.

The privately owned Las Vegas-based company said a downturn in U.S. credit markets severely curtailed the availability of student loans and resulted in a sharp and sudden downturn in new student enrollment. The company advertised its pilot instructor program at a cost of $69,900.

Chapter 7 in U.S. bankruptcy court leads to the dissolution of a corporation and sale of its assets.

"The decision to shut down operations was made only after the company explored its other available alternatives," said Elizabeth Trosper, a company spokeswoman. "Information for former employees and students will be disseminated as it becomes available."

Silver State ranked No. 4 in revenue growth among Inc. Magazine's 2007 transportation companies and reached $78.1 million in annual revenue.

Its decision to close was not because of any action by the FAA, said Ian Gregor, communications manager for the FAA's Western-Pacific Region.

A Silver State instructor pilot and student were killed March 27 in a crash at Ponte Vedra Beach in an accident the National Transportation Safety Board attributed to "a mechanic's improper installation" of a device. That led to the pilot's loss of control on a flight about 200 to 500 feet above the Atlantic coastline.

"Contributing factors were the company management's inadequate surveillance and enforcement of maintenance procedures, the excessive maintenance workload due to inadequate staffing of maintenance personnel, and the insufficient management of maintenance tasks," the NTSB said in an accident brief released Thursday.

The mechanic said one of the reasons for his error was that "he was pulled in all directions" by company personnel since his arrival in Jacksonville, the NTSB report said.

Students who showed up for lessons in Lakeland. Melbourne, Jacksonville and Fort Lauderdale on Monday found doors shuttered. In Polk County, a sheriff's deputy stood at the door.

Richard Bock, a student at the Lakeland academy just two months shy of becoming a certified helicopter flight instructor and getting his commercial license, said he quit his job four months ago and put everything he had into getting his flying license. Bock, who said he had obtained his personal helicopter license during the course, said the school had taken $70,000 he had borrowed through a student loan.

"This is just aggravating to me," he said. "And they had just gotten done having seminars the week before last at all four locations trying to get people to sign up for classes."

The problems are similar for fellow flight student Kevin Toomey of Myakka City. Toomey said he had hoped to get a helicopter's license to start a new career. He began taking classes 14 months ago and said that the school accepted his entire student loan of about $75,000.

"I've wanted to fly for years," he said. "It's something I've always wanted to do. It's always been out of my reach financially until I ran across this."

Reporter Ted Jackovics can be reached at tjackovics@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7817.

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