Airline Used for Missouri Trip Under Fire From Feds
Feb 14, 2015; Columbia, MO, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs forward Demetrius Houston (2) goes for a three point shot over Missouri Tigers guard Montaque Gill-Caesar (13) during the first half at Mizzou Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dak Dillon-USA TODAY Sports
On Saturday after Mississippi State’s 77-74 win over Missouri, the plane carrying Mississippi State Men’s basketball team was forced to make an emergency landing in St. Louis. One of the engines on the plane failed and forced the pilot to make the emergency landing.
On Sunday, Maroon And White Nation was made aware of a decision by the U.S. Department of Transportation regarding the airline that was used for the trip to Columbia. Aerodynamics Incorporated is the company that runs and maintains the aircraft used in the flight on Saturday. On January 16, the U.S. Department of Transportation began the process to, “revoke its certificates to conduct interstate and foreign charter air transportation of persons, property, and mail.” The basis of this decision was “ADI does not possess the managerial competency necessary to oversee its current charter and proposed scheduled passenger operations, nor does it have the proper compliance disposition and regard for the laws and regulations governing its services.” According to the decision, the CEO, majority shareholder, and board member of Aerodynamics Incorporated is Scott Beale. Scott Beale was sued by Flight Test Aviation. The jury in the trial found that Beale was guilty of fraud and awarded Flight Test Aviation $500,000 in compensatory damages and $100,000 in punitive damages. To make matters worse, Aerodynamics Incorporated did not notify the Department of Transportation about the decision as they are required to do so by law.
An engine failing on a plane can happen to any plane of any airline. But it is only natural to ask if the engine failure on Saturday was a freak accident, or a sign of a company that has been cited as incompetent to maintain its aircraft or operate its airline properly?
I spoke with Gregg Ellis, the Sports Information Director for the Men’s Basketball team earlier today, and he said the school was unaware of any decision made against Aerodynamics Incorporated. Aerodynamics Incorporated did not inform the school of the decision to the best of his knowledge. They have used this company all year for their flight needs after the company they used last year went out of business. Ellis is not responsible for chartering the plane, but was going to inform the business department about the ruling.
If there is any further information regarding the airline, we will update you as soon as we know.