Aircraft Repossession

[nwf800]

The owner of the fbo by me has done some work for lending companies and banks who have contacted him directly

 

[81Horse]

A friend and I once repo'd an F90 King Air for Beech Acceptance. We borrowed a box full of old and spare keys from the local Beech dealer, and found one that got us into the plane. (POS locks, half of 'em keyed alike.)

We ferried the airplane to another Beechcraft FBO, but got home that afternoon feeling kind of ... crummy about ourselves. I decided I didn't have what it takes to be a Repo Man.

 

[AF&AM]

While I understand the how you would feel "crummy" about taking someones property, to us it is just a job that provides our clients with results. You see there are times when ALL of us find ourselves in financial hardship and have to make adjustments. Its not that we are deadbeats or anything, its just as with any aspect of life, it has its good times and its bad.
There are a lot of times when you make contact with the Registered Owner of an aircraft, and he works with you because he has made arrangements with the lender to surrender it. Then there are other times when an aircraft is being used to transport drugs and other contaband, that makes the act of repossession more than a little exciting.
I pray that no one here ever has to have anything repossessed, and the best advise I could ever give to someone who might find themselves faced with a recovery, is to communicate with the lender.

Michael
Scottish Recovery

 

[81Horse]

All good advice, Michael.

I think we felt crummy because it was such a big, goofy adventure for us to break into the plane and then fly it away like thieves. But later it struck us both that it wasn't a prank; it was serious business for the lender, and a total financial humiliation for the owners.

 

[FN FAL]

I have heard that if you don't pay your exorcist, you get repossessed.

 

[81Horse]

I would LOL, but I don't want to encourage you.

 

[Lear Wanna Be]

I ran an FBO for a few years and one day I get a call from a bank president. Well, he was the president of the aircraft lending side at least. He tells me that they are looking for a C210 N12345 and asks if it was located on the field. Now, since this owner still owed us a lot of money, I did not feel obligated to try to protect him. So I told the banker it was there. He told me they were the lender and that the guy was a dead beat. He asked if I could secure the airplane until he could make it down to see the aircraft. I said that I was not sure about that until he sent me some paperwork that made this lawful. He then faxed me an order of reblevin (sp?) signed by a judge and we then secured the aircraft in our maintenance hangar. For the most part, I think this is how it works in IL.

The bank decided to sell it themselves. They did not disclose any of the conditions of the aircraft to the buyers. The new owners got a ferry permit and headed west with it. They crashed about 90 minutes later after an engine failure. Read all about it www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001212X20591&key=1
FI messed this address up, where it has ...., put 2000.

So I wonder how it works with repo flights. I am sure most of them you don't have the logbooks and don't really have a good idea of the condition of the aircraft. Who knows what works and doesn't work. I mean if then owner can't afford to pay the payment, then he probably can't afford the up keep either. So, then say there is an accident or incident. Is the PIC in trouble? Does the FAA make exceptions for these kind of operations? If not, I don't know that I would risk my career over a couple extra hours and a little extra cash.

 

[81Horse]

... since this owner still owed us a lot of money ... we then secured the aircraft in our maintenance hangar. ...

My grandparents were FBO owners, back in the day. The old man (who was an A & P) used to pull the prop off a plane if the owner was in arrears. Crude, but effective; and no liability issues.

In the case you mentioned above, I'd have thought the aircraft owner (the bank) would be liable to some extent. But what a tragic story -- and a lot to think about.

 

[Lear Wanna Be]

It has been a couple years now since I heard anything, but I did get several calls from the buyers attorney. My guess is the case was settled. IMHO, it should be criminal that the bank did not disclose any of the problems that we told them about. Guess their out was, "Sold as is, where is." Oh, they promptly stopped payment on the check that they wrote us for the fees that were owed. 1st class wouldn't you say? It was through Zook Pilot Services, which is a branch of Uptown National Bank. I think Zook went TU, which is no surprise. I would stay away from either institution after seeing the way they do business.

 

[AF&AM]

There are alot of times that you will find individuals who will damage an aircraft to keep it from being repossessed, however, most of the owners know about the risk of harm to innocents and will not do anything that will cause such a accident. When we take an assignment from a lending institution the liabilty now rests on our shoulders, our company is responsible for ANYTHING that happens during the recovery. The main reason we hire Aviation Professionals that are type rated in the aircraft to be recovered, is that after a condition report is filled out and they have any doubts about the aircraft. We will order it disabled and arrange truck transport. You are welcome to visit repoempire.com and speak with some of the recovery agents there or you may contact us direct, if you would like to get on our approved user list.

Michael
www.scottishrecovery.com