According to an article in a New Jersey newspaper, The Star-Ledger, federal charges have been filed against six executives of Platinum Jet Management, LLC (“PJM”), a Ft. Lauderdale company that performed illegal charter flights back in 2005, one of which ran off the end of the runway at Teterboro. At the time, PJM was attempting to operate under the Part 135 certificate held by Darby Aviation through certain DBA arrangements. As you may recall, Darby’s Part 135 certificate was subsequently revoked (see Administrator v. Darby Aviation d/b/a Alphajet International, Inc.). The accident and subsequent investigation resulted in the FAA’s rabid and often overzealous “operational control” rampage.
The indictment alleges that PJM instructed its pilots to falsify weight-and-balance, and that it routinely flew commercial charter flights (allegedly more than 25) with weights that exceeded aircraft center of gravity limits. Interestingly, neither Darby Aviation nor its executives were charged in the indictment. I am not sure why it has taken them this long to bring charges. However, I will be curious to see how this case plays out.
