Settlement reached in aviation safety lawsuit
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana has announced that Indy Jet Management LLC and associated parties have agreed to resolve allegations of conducting illegal charter flights. The settlement resolves allegations that between March 2017 and February 2018, Indy Jet Management operated about 168 paid passenger-carrying flights in violation of Federal Aviation Administration safety regulations.
Associated parties include Gary Aletto, GSA Investment, Inc., AirXL, LLC, Excel 2 LLC, Excel 3 LLC, Excel 4 LLC, CJI LLC, Indy Bravo LLC, Bradley Cable, and Citation Management LLC.
According to the FAA’s allegations, Indy Jet Management sold customers charter jet services under sham “dry leases” with one company to purportedly lease aircraft without any pilots or services provided. “Dry leases” occur when an aviation leasing company leases only an aircraft — and the lessee is responsible for obtaining its own pilots and services.
Customers then entered into contracts for pilot services with another Indy Jet Management-related company. Together, the contracts were presented as a package deal to provide a piloted charter jet service while evading the FAA certification and pilot qualification regulations.
Under the terms of settlement agreement, Indy Jet Management agreed that it will no longer operate in the same manner and has paid a $187,500 civil penalty.
According to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, the claims resolved by the settlement are only allegations, and there has been no determination of liability.