Aviation

FAA Proposes $161,500 Civil Penalty Against Redtail Air of Moab, Utah

Washington, D.C.–The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposes a $161,500 civil penalty against Redtail Air of Moab, Utah, for allegedly operating an aircraft on more than 100 flights when it was not in an airworthy condition and for allegedly failing to perform maintenance on the damaged area of the aircraft.

On December 15, 2017, the FAA inspected a Redtail Cessna 207 and found dents on the horizontal stabilizer. The FAA inspector notified Redtail that the dents appeared to be excessive for safe flight and advised the company it should inspect the damage using the Cessna Service Manual.

Redtail operated the aircraft on three more for-hire flights until January 1, 2018, when the company inspected the damage, considered it to be “negligible” and approved the aircraft for return to service without performing any repairs, the FAA alleges.

On March 7, 2018, the FAA reassessed the damage to the horizontal stabilizer using the Cessna Service Manual and found it was badly damaged due to multiple dents that had displaced metal and were larger than two inches in circumference. The Service Manual considered damage of this size not to be “negligible” and required the skin to be replaced. The damaged skin made the aircraft unairworthy.

The FAA alleges the company used the plane on approximately 137 for-hire flights between January 1, 2018, and March 8, 2018, when it was not in an airworthy condition.

Redtail has been in communication with the FAA about the case.

Aviation

No More Jet Airways. Supreme Court Says “No Choice”, Orders Liquidation

Jet Airways was once one of India’s leading airlines, known for its service and extensive network. Founded in 1993, it served millions of passengers, connecting cities across India and international destinations.

However, since grounding its flights in April 2019, Jet Airways has struggled to navigate financial turbulence, leading to years of efforts to revive the airline and return it to the skies.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court ordered the liquidation of Jet Airways, citing “no choice” but to take this decisive step after the resolution plan failed to meet creditor obligations. The court invoked its extraordinary powers under Article 142, which allows it to make orders for “complete justice” in any case, overriding previous tribunal rulings.

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The Jalan-Kalrock Consortium (JKC), which had won the bid to revive Jet, faced criticism for not fulfilling payment commitments to creditors, which included major banks like the State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank.

The Supreme Court’s ruling pointed to “peculiar and alarming” issues surrounding the resolution plan’s implementation, leading to its conclusion that liquidation was the only feasible outcome.

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Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, alongside Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, emphasized that while liquidation should be a last resort, it was necessary as the resolution plan was “no longer capable of implementation.”

In line with this decision, the court ordered that the ₹200 crore already infused by JKC be forfeited and directed the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in Mumbai to appoint a liquidator to oversee the process.

JKC, a partnership between Murari Jalan, a UAE-based Indian entrepreneur, and Florian Fritsch, a Jet shareholder through Kalrock Capital Partners Limited, had taken ownership of Jet Airways two years after it was grounded. The consortium’s inability to fulfill its financial obligations has now led to this final verdict, marking the end of an era for Jet Airways in India.