Airline Scams and Scandals
Air Rhodesia, during the UN Rhodesian sanctions, buying a whole fleet of Boeing 720s from a dealer in Basel, Switzerland who had them up for sale from a Scandinavian holiday charter airline who had upgraded to newer aircraft. Front was that they were for a new airline startup in Paraguay. Paid cash for them, flew them off to Las Palmas, flightplanned for an evening departure for all of them to South America, set off with full tanks into the night, but landed in Salisbury, Rhodesia, and brought jet operations to Air Rhodesia. Real Boys' Own story buccaneering stuff.
Then what about Hank Wharton ? Every grey market operation going !
Without a doubt the centre of operations for your stories used to be, and to an extent continues to be, Miami airport, especially the ramps on the north side with the various independent operators and the local freelance crews who knew the interesting way to the Caribbean and Latin America.
Then what about Hank Wharton ? Every grey market operation going !
Without a doubt the centre of operations for your stories used to be, and to an extent continues to be, Miami airport, especially the ramps on the north side with the various independent operators and the local freelance crews who knew the interesting way to the Caribbean and Latin America.
Keep 'em comin!
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I think it was Norwich Airport, back in the mid to late 80's, brain cells aren't what they were but something like a businessman approached the airport, he claimed to be moving in/setting up an exec jet, or even an airline, operation, he wanted some backhanders from the airport to bring his business there, the airport were falling for it but it transpired to be a scam, a fantasy.
As I say my brain cells aren't what they were, perhaps a NWI local from the mid to late 80's might have more accurate info.
As I say my brain cells aren't what they were, perhaps a NWI local from the mid to late 80's might have more accurate info.
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Aero Mad,
I think I recall NWI airport running around, new buildings to be built, exec jet centre blah blah blah, my memories are faint but I seem to recall this guy had NWI airport tripping over themselves.
I think I recall NWI airport running around, new buildings to be built, exec jet centre blah blah blah, my memories are faint but I seem to recall this guy had NWI airport tripping over themselves.
You could look at low cost ticketing policy. Or how a return flight from Manchester to Rome advertised at 39 pounds one way and 49 pounds return ended up costing 940 pounds for four people.
Both a scam and a scandal in my book!
Both a scam and a scandal in my book!
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Hi HC, thanks very much however Luke Butler's history is so 'colourful' and complicated that I do in fact have suspicions that it would not actually work in print. A thread about him on had such a long list of his failed ventures as a reader one would be unable to keep track of it! Wish he would make a few less blunders 
Gnome de PPRuNe
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Blimey, never heard of Luke Butler before - just skimmed the thread; he has been a bit of a bad lad!
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Not sure if it fits into your scope, but you might also be interested in the last flight by Marga von Etzdorf, in 1933. She was hoping to get back into a long-range flying career after various failed flights, and was given the chance to start for Australia with the help of Klemm and some German business people, but crash landed in Aleppo, Syria, then shot herself. What's funny about it is, she allegedly was covertly carrying a latest-model submachine gun (in addition to what she used on herself), so an investigation concluded it was an exploratory flight for some arms smuggling operation. Very murky, sad ending of an otherwise bright life.
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How about the 'Package Holiday' company flying out of Luton using Britannias.
Their brochure proudly claimed an 'all jet fleet', and that was true, but the image on the front cover, a ground shot, had all the propellers airbrushed out and an a nice black orifice intake stuck on the front of all visible engines.
PeterA
Their brochure proudly claimed an 'all jet fleet', and that was true, but the image on the front cover, a ground shot, had all the propellers airbrushed out and an a nice black orifice intake stuck on the front of all visible engines.
PeterA
Photos: Vickers 812 Viscount Aircraft Pictures | Airliners.net
Bermuda Sky Queen
interesting stories
National Affairs: Broomstick at the Mast - TIME
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stepwilk I believe the incident you referred to some posts ago is this one:
ASN Aircraft accident 11-JAN-2009 Piper PA-46-500TP Malibu Meridian N428DC
Apparently the pilot involved was wanted for securities fraud amongst other things and wanted to do a DB Cooper.
UPDATE: Pilot on the run from Alabama authorities Local News The Herald Bulletin
The unmanned aircraft flew through the circuit at NAS Whiting Field shortly before impact in the Blackwater River basin just East of Milton, Florida.
ASN Aircraft accident 11-JAN-2009 Piper PA-46-500TP Malibu Meridian N428DC
Apparently the pilot involved was wanted for securities fraud amongst other things and wanted to do a DB Cooper.
UPDATE: Pilot on the run from Alabama authorities Local News The Herald Bulletin
The unmanned aircraft flew through the circuit at NAS Whiting Field shortly before impact in the Blackwater River basin just East of Milton, Florida.
Nixor ut Ledo
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907, that's less of a scam than Foss not being terribly clever. He did write the book, he was just an idiot in distributing it and his publishers were 
useless.
useless.
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Ah, Airline Scams and Scandals, such a rich field of endeavour in which I have failed repeatedly to succeed, in spite of learning at the feet of so many masters, among whom my favourites are/were....
- BAF in the '70s and early '80s, with its unique support of needy CAA staff, allied to its unique AOG policy, unique pilot rostering (20 days no break, then a 7 day break), and unique flight planning rules (plan for a place, then divert from overhead to the real destination 100 miles on = more seats to sell in a fuel hungry Viscount)
- B. H*dd*c*n and his special line in very private flights from N Ireland and to Libya
- A variety of very sharp gentlemen, in GF and elsewhere in the Middle East, eg Palestine Airlines, who knew how to get the best out of a willingly compliant aircraft manufacturer.
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On the subject of BAF there was an occasion when two of their own aircraft were involved in a ground collision with each other ..... all for the insurance payout of course.
On the subject of scandals .... ABZ had been snowclosed, the airport cleared it, the grass areas of the airfield were white and extremely saturated, and an Air UK F27 taxied out for take-off and lined up with the runway centre-line lighting.
Rolling for take-off it was only once they cleared the ARP (the widened area at the end of the runway) that they found out, the hard way, that ABZ didn't have centre-line lighting, only runway edge lighting ..... and that was from an ABZ based crew!
On the subject of scandals .... ABZ had been snowclosed, the airport cleared it, the grass areas of the airfield were white and extremely saturated, and an Air UK F27 taxied out for take-off and lined up with the runway centre-line lighting.
Rolling for take-off it was only once they cleared the ARP (the widened area at the end of the runway) that they found out, the hard way, that ABZ didn't have centre-line lighting, only runway edge lighting ..... and that was from an ABZ based crew!