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Ex-CEO of airline seeking to offer local flights to sell 100% ownership
By Ed Runyan
VIENNA
Scott Beale resigned as president, CEO and chairman of the board of Aerodynamics Inc. on Jan. 26 and will sell his 100 percent ownership in the company within 120 days, the company told the U.S. Department of Transportation on Thursday.
Aerodynamics, of Atlanta, provided that information and detailed background on three new company officers and board members in its written response Thursday to the DOT’s Jan. 22 finding that ADI lacked “fitness” to offer daily air service between Youngstown and Chicago.
The DOT said Jan. 22 it was tentatively denying ADI’s request to start up the service between the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport and Chicago O’Hare International Airport because of DOT concerns about the fraud that a federal judge said Beale committed while soliciting investment funds from a former business partner in 2012.
The DOT also proposed revoking ADI’s existing certificate for providing charter flights. But it gave ADI 14 days to respond to the proposed order before any action would be taken.
ADI’s response says the company appointed F. Darrell Richardson as CEO, president and chairman of the board Jan. 26 and also appointed three new board members.
The response asks that the DOT issue an order giving Beale 30 days to place his ADI ownership shares in a voting trust, give him 120 days to complete the sale of the company, asks the DOT to withdraw the Jan. 22 order that proposed revocation of its charter certificate and indicate its willingness to consider ADI’s application to run the Youngstown-Chicago service.
“Because the [Jan. 22] order has raised concerns in the marketplace and among ADI’s customer base, ADI requests that [DOT] act immediately on this request,” ADI’s response says. “ADI has acted swiftly and decisively to address the concerns relating to ADI’s ownership and management discussed in the [DOT] order.”
Dan Dickten, director of aviation at Youngstown, said he is “optimistic” that the DOT will allow ADI to move forward with the new Youngstown flights, which would restore daily air service to the airport that has been missing since 2002. The DOT has seven days to respond to ADI’s reply, Dickten said.
The Western Reserve Port Authority, which runs the Youngstown airport, approved giving ADI a $1.2 million revenue guarantee to ensure ADI a 5 percent profit during the startup phase of the service. That money consists of $420,000 from the port authority and $780,000 from a DOT grant. The nonprofit group YNGAir Partners also has pledged to provide an additional $130,000 for marketing and advertising to help promote the service.
Beale has removed himself from the management, governance, employment and operations of ADI and its parent company, ADI Holdings, which is owned by Aviation Capital Partners, which Beale owns.
Three people were appointed to ADI’s board Jan. 26: Mickey Bowman, Kenneth Swieter and Donald Greeson.
Bowman, of Owensboro, Ky., became vice president of airline services in January. Swieter, of Colleyville, Texas, and Greeson, of Pompano Beach, Fla., do not have day-to-day positions with the company, according to documents contained in ADI’s response.
Robert Ward has resigned from the ADI board, despite not being named in the DOT’s Jan. 22 order, ADI noted.