From the latest issue of Air Cargo World:
AFX Suing
Evergreen Air Center, a major aircraft maintenance provider for cargo and passenger operators, says it will fight accusations of faulty work that were thrown across the Atlantic in a lawsuit by British cargo carrier Airfreight Express.
AFX aimed a series of charges at Evergreen in a $10 million suit filed in Tucson, near EAC's Marana, Ariz., base, including extortion, racketeering, overcharging and defective maintenance.
A freight airline that has launched its operations in fits and starts over the last two years, AFX claims Evergreen's work on its 747-200 freighter "raised significant questions about the work practices at EAC and seriously compromised air safety."
EAC President Trevor Van Horn denied the allegations, saying AFX supervised the maintenance with their own representatives and signed off on the work in accordance with government regulations.
"The owner of AFX signed the certificate of airworthiness," Van Horn said. He noted the owner flew the aircraft to the United Kingdom, and has since flown the aircraft on revenue flights. "If AFX was concerned with safety, why would they get on their own airplane? This boils down to a money issue."
Van Horn says EAC, a sister company of freighter operator Evergreen International Airlines, suspended work on the planes three times because AFX failed to pay its bills, which totaled $2 million, between December 2000 and March 2001. "Evergreen has an impeccable, flawless safety record," Van Horn said. "We will vigorously defend ourselves."
I picked up an aircraft at the air center last friday and the guys with wrenchs in their hands said basically the same thing.