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Feds seek more info from ADI before OK’ing flights
By Kalea Hall
VIENNA
The U.S. Department of Transportation still wants more information about the airline wishing to provide daily service between Chicago and Youngstown before it approves the service.
The Western Reserve Port Authority, which operates Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, and Dan Dickten, director of aviation, still support Aerodynamics Inc.’s efforts to bring that service.
The DOT is putting ADI, of Beachwood, Ohio, and Atlanta, through a fitness and safety check before it approves the operation of scheduled interstate passenger service.
The DOT’s Air Carrier Fitness Division, in a letter dated Aug. 5, asked Aerodynamics Inc., which is now under new ownership, to provide them with details on management and personnel, operations and financial position and other items.
“We are confident and committed to getting that [Youngstown] service,” said Mickey Bowman, vice president of airline services for ADI. “We remain committed and absolutely convinced that this is a viable service. We appreciate the support and patience that we have received from the people of Youngstown.”
In June 2014, ADI, a company that offers charter services, applied to provide flights between Youngstown-Warren and Chicago 10 times per week in a 50-passenger aircraft.
But the DOT tentatively denied the application and also suggested the airline should have its charter-flights certification revoked.
Of main concern was the influence of former company leader Scott Beale. Beale was a defendant in a civil lawsuit filed by Flight Test Aviation Inc. Transportation officials then found a federal judge who said Beale had committed fraud while soliciting investment funds from a former business partner.
Beale has resigned as CEO, president and chairman of ADI and its parent companies.
Darrell Richardson, an industry veteran, took over ADI in January. He is now company president and chief operating officer.
All of Beale’s ownership interest in Aviation Capital Partners, ADI’s holding company, was placed into a voting trust.
The transportation department said it was encouraged by the airline’s efforts to change the company but wanted to see more information.
In a June response to DOT, ADI said it had entered into a stock-purchase agreement with John Beardsley and his wife, Janet.
The Beardsleys are the primary owners of SeaPort Airlines through holding company Janair LLC. SeaPort is a scheduled commuter airline based in Portland, Ore.
The Beardsleys are now the owners of ADI through ADI Acquisition Co. after the sale of ADI to ADI Acquisition Co. closed in early July.
ADI continues to operate its charter service while working with the DOT for approval of the Youngstown service.
The company has 30 days to respond to the DOT’s Aug. 5 request for more information. ADI has been asked by the transportation department to provide an updated forecast with costs associated with the scheduled service the company plans to operate.
The department also asked the company to provide any information on changes that could affect its fitness.
Of concern to the DOT are the responsibilities of Rob McKinney, CEO of SeaPort, who will be the CEO of ADI, but who will spend one-third of his time with ADI.
The department also wants to see third-party verification of the company’s cash accounts, letters of credit from financial institutions and/or letters of credit from private or institutional investors.
The department also wants an actual post-closing balance sheet and income statement from ADI and third-party verification that $130,000 from the Western Reserve Port Authority, which oversees operations at the local airport, is still available.
The DOT also wants information on the stock-purchase agreement between ADI and Beale.
The department has asked the company to provide a list of any liabilities incurred by ADI or SeaPort that are more than 60 days past due and why they are past due. The department also would like the company to discuss whether payroll obligations have been met in a timely manner and if the company is on a cash-only basis with any of its vendors.
Five anonymous comments on a federal docket have brought out some alleged issues with ADI.
The comments on the docket for ADI’s service application highlighted issues with the safety of the airline, the business operation and finances.
“It is unsubstantiated and it is anonymous,” Dickten said.
He said he does not have any concerns of safety with the airline.
“We would not put our community at harm in any way, shape or form,” Dickten said. “We would not bring in any unsafe operation by any means.”
ADI’s Bowman said the anonymous person seems to have an “ax to grind” with the airline.
“Both ADI and SeaPort have been operating passenger service in a safe manner – ADI for the past 55 years and SeaPort for over 25 years,” Dickten said. “No one is better at vetting this all out than the Department of Transportation, so we are confident they will not provide the certification if they find the airline not fit and safe to operate. The DOT has not questioned the safety of the airline.”
One fact posted in an anonymous comment was on the July crash of a Wings of Alaska plane, which is a part of SeaPort. The flight from Juneau to Hoonah, Alaska, with four passengers and a pilot crashed into a mountain, killing the pilot, according to a report by KTVA Alaska.
In February of this year, an ADI plane made two emergency landings because of engine problems.
The Mississippi State men’s basketball team had its ADI plane make an emergency landing in St. Louis on Feb. 14 because of an engine issue, according to a report in The Clarion-Ledger.
A week later, on Feb. 25, the University of Wisconsin basketball team had its ADI plane make an emergency landing in Pittsburgh because of an engine problem, according to 27 WKOW-TV of Madison, Wis.
“Those engines were replaced and put back in service,” Bowman said.