AMI Jet Charter/TAG 135 certificate revoked

[Spooky 2]

I believe the foreign ownership was least of the problems. our pres got a letter from our poi giving "the facts" of the ami/tag disaster. among the highlights were the facts that ami/tag could not prove crews were trained for 135 ops, crews met duty and rest requirments etc. Another rumor is that AMI/tag felt that the expected fines were cheaper than training. so suck up the fine and continue. Not smart.

I beg to differ with you on this training issue. There is not one person who can step forward and say that he or she was not trained by AMIJC or TAG Aviation USA. Simply not so and I would suggest that this letter be posted if in fact it is true Rumors have no place in these kind of activities.

A someone else has mentioned here, TAG SA is in fact owned by a family who has their roots in the Middle East and Europe. The original founder Karim (SP)Ojjeh had strong ties with the Saudi Royal family and two of his sons have continued to build their business empire on solid western business ethics. Both sons are educated in the US and both are married to American women. They have homes in the US as well as locatioins in Europe. TAG along with Mercedes own and sponsor the Mc Leran F1 team. In past Middle Eastern conflicts that the US has involved themselves in, the parent company TAG Aeronautics has enjoyed a excellent relationship with western interests. My guess is that TAG will simply dissapear from the US avaition scene and continue to be very sucessful in Farborough and other European countries as well as Asia. To bad as I think we lost a damn good Part 135 operation of which there are few. By the way I do not believe anyone has gone through this process other than TAG, as the FAA has only one team trained in this process. They say there will be more to follow, so hang on it's going to get rough out there.

 

[Igor]

http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?ContentBlockID=123990e8-0494-45a5-a093-c445cf0d380c#dFollowing the FAA's Emergency Order Of Revocation against AMI Jet Charter, Inc., of Burlingame, CA, the industry has responded with suspicion and concern. On October 4, 2007, the FAA issued an emergency order suspending AMI's air carrier certificate "until such time as AMI demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Acting Administrator, with documentation, that it had sufficient management personnel and the management structure, management systems and record systems, including record systems that show the qualifications of its pilots and the airworthiness status of its aircraft, in place to maintain effective and safe operational control and ensure the safety of its Part 135 operations."
On October 12th, the FAA followed that up with an Emergency Order Of Revocation charging that, "Under 49 U.S.C. §46105(c) the Acting Administrator has determined that an emergency exists related to safety in air commerce. This determination is based on AMI Jet Charter, Inc.'s lack of qualification to hold an Air Carrier Certificate because of the nature and seriousness of the violations set forth in this order. AMI Jet Charter, Inc. entered into a scheme and/or deceptive practice with TAG Aviation USA, Inc., whereby AMI allowed TAG and/or aircraft owners to exercise operational control over its Part 135 operations. AMI Jet Charter, Inc. intentionally and deliberately allowed TAG to exercise such control when it knew that TAG Aviation USA did not hold a U.S. air carrier certificate. Additionally, AMI Jet Charter, Inc. intentionally and deliberately allowed the aircraft owners to exercise such control when it knew the aircraft owners did not hold air carrier certificates. Moreover, AMI Jet Charter, Inc. does not have sufficient management personnel and the management structure, management systems and record systems, including record systems that show the qualification of its pilots and the airworthiness status of its aircraft, in place to maintain effective and safe operational control and ensure the safety of its Part 135 operations."
National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) President and CEO Ed Bolen (pictured below) noted that the recent decision by FAA officials to suspend AMI Jet Charter's air carrier certificate should be viewed as a wake-up call to all charter providers.
"This significant action was taken against a company that is among the most highly regarded charter providers in the country," Bolen said.
The FAA's decision to suspend AMI's license comes as part of the agency's ongoing review of every charter operator in the U.S. to ensure compliance in "operational control," a term used to describe the systems and procedures involved in the safe and legal operation of chartered (FAR Part 135) aircraft.
An accident in 2005 involving a different charter company and complex aircraft owner and charter arrangements brought the issues surrounding operational control under heightened scrutiny from the FAA. The agency discovered that, in some cases, the lack of clarity in an operational control agreement prompted uncertainty about the qualifications of the parties involved with the operation of an aircraft

 

[Spooky 2]

That statement that is in bold was quickly rebuked in the answer to the FAA after the suspension. What would like to see is just one person say he/she was not properly qualified to fly under the TAG/AMIJC cert. Did not happen and even the FAA agreed t that. The Revocation was purley an ownership structure issue which while I might agree with, I do agree that they should have done MORE to prevent it.

 

[Publishers]

Hold on a minute. While the overriding problem was the ownership, take a minute and think how that problem manifested itself. Yes, the foreign part most likely lead to the shut down, the issue of not having control of the pilots is a giant one and one that many more companies can be effected by. The having a corporate aircraft owned by one company and the pilots paid by and subject to the control of that companies personnel but used by another company that has a certificate but does not know what those pilots were doing yesterday is the problem.

 

[Spooky 2]

It's a moot point now and how Sentient is different is beyond me. There is a lot more to this story than meets the eye and everyone should hope that the FAA does not come knocking on their door anytime soon.

 

[holden1]

It's a moot point now and how Sentient is different is beyond me. There is a lot more to this story than meets the eye and everyone should hope that the FAA does not come knocking on their door anytime soon.

Actually, it is my understanding from a few of these stories that Sentient is working with the FAA. Not sure what you are getting at here...

 

[Spooky 2]

Actually, it is my understanding from a few of these stories that Sentient is working with the FAA. Not sure what you are getting at here...

My comments are in no way directed at Sentient as I know nothing aout them other than what I recently heard with regards to the TAG/AMIJC purchase.

 

[TransMach]

Things ...

Spooky 2,

Hey buddy, I'm going to seen "Rendition" tonight. Am I gonna see you in it?

TransMach