Impounding airliners at British airports
I remember that particular aircraft but Dublin is not a British Airport as covered by the title of the thread. It's a bit of a thread drift if we start including non British airports.
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I recall an Air Europe Express SH360 being impounded at GCI when the airline went under,
I think it had a tractor parked in front of it to prevent it from moving off - behind was uneven grass so no fear of it being pushed back off stand.
I think it had a tractor parked in front of it to prevent it from moving off - behind was uneven grass so no fear of it being pushed back off stand.
I believe the Court document used for this purpose was a ‘Mareva Injunction’. It was in the 1970’s anyway. Could well be a different process now of course. There were actually instructions in ATC documentation at Luton during that period. The document was indeed ‘nailed to the mast’. Well, actually speed taped to the main passenger door. Snow clearing equipment being parked across the aircraft nose to prevent escape. There were numerous aircraft ‘restrained’ during that time. I’m afraid I don’t remember registrations but do recall a Boeing 707-100 which diverted in ex-Stansted and was alleged to have been used by Air America. It ended up being scrapped in the engine run bay. I suspect ‘Almost Professional’ may be along shortly with more detailed recall the me!
A good friend of mine was flying for Air Europe Express on the SH360 at this time and walked out onto the apron at Birmingham to find a fire vehicle parked in front of the aircraft. His first re-action was that the aircraft must have suffered a fuel leak. Unfortunately, the only thing that had gone up in smoke was his first airline career! Fortunately, things got a lot better for him from then on..
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edited to add. You’re absolutely correct re-Aero America. A bit of research pulled up some very nice images.
Last edited by Spiney Norman; 24th Nov 2023 at 16:47. Reason: Web research
It's normally to do with either non-payment of fees to airports, or sometimes to handling firms or for recovering engineering /support costs. Most recent example I can think of was at Heathrow, one of the FlyBe incarnations impounded in early 2020 resulted in a DHC-8 having an 'extended parking' period
Other measures taken to impound aircraft until payment was made included, again at Heathrow in the late 1980s after carrying out a heavy check on a Mediterranean Express BAC1-11
[it may have been this one: https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1068604] the aircraft sat outside the hangars for a good while waiting to be collected until payment was received and on parking the aircraft batteries and nosewheels were removed just to make sure it didn't get flown out before full payment was received...
[it may have been this one: https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1068604] the aircraft sat outside the hangars for a good while waiting to be collected until payment was received and on parking the aircraft batteries and nosewheels were removed just to make sure it didn't get flown out before full payment was received...
Last edited by MAC 40612; 24th Nov 2023 at 22:01.
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Les Wilson (Bristol Airport Manager) made the local news showing him enthusiastically slapping on a notice impounding a passenger plane that had just landed and was about to take on a fresh passenger load and depart. I think this was in the late 80's.
Ha! That doesn’t surprise me at all. Les had been SATCO at Luton and was always keen on catching debtors! His most famous ‘cop’ with us in ATC was the occasion when he attempted to stop a local AG pilot departing in his Pawnee due to an alleged unpaid landing fee.. He was invited to go forth and multiply as the pilot was only wearing swimming trunks and a motorcycle crash helmet..Fortunately Les didn’t attempt a full cavity body search for loose change…
To take another non aviation related example, if a bailiff were to try and take a car from a debtor and the car was financed by PCP they could be in hot water with the leasing company as they have title over the vehicle.
Sure, the airline if it has the funds it would be well advised to pay up as it would lose credit facilities across the industry and probably result in its swift demise.
Even happened at London City, an operator with the extraordinarily optimistic title of World Airlines got a first 146, but ran into all sorts of admin issues which delayed them beginning for months, eventually began on LCY to Amsterdam, with thin loads. Got a second 146, and the same delaying issues happened so it was never used. Having used up all their capital, and then some, the first 146 was seized on the LCY apron, with the oldest ground services van in front of it and wheel-clamped. Sat there for about two months before it, and the airline, disappeared.
Ironically they had done 10 London black cabs in an all-over advertising promotion livery, which could be seen on the streets (and very occasionally in the LCY cab rank, which made me laugh) for the next year, until the prepaid contract expired.
Ironically they had done 10 London black cabs in an all-over advertising promotion livery, which could be seen on the streets (and very occasionally in the LCY cab rank, which made me laugh) for the next year, until the prepaid contract expired.
Does anyone recall a (Nigerian-registered?) 707 that was impounded at Manston in the 1980s after it was discovered that the "tractor spares" it was shipping weren't? IIRC it was GAS Air Cargo/DAS Air Cargo or RN Air Cargo (all were painted on the same aircraft in quick succession).
Tees SIde impounded a Sudan Airways Comet in the late 60s/early 70s for non payment of fees. It had been crew training and the trainers and crews disappeared without paying for all the fuel etc. IIRC they left the aeroplane because MME wouldn't extend them any more credit to pay for fuel until they'd paid their current bill.
I don't think they were impounded, they had been withdrawn in Sudan and handed to a UK broker to sell. There was only one likely purchaser, and their holiday market had taken a bit of a downer with the oil price and economy problems, so they.bided their time for a couple of years until the broker was desperate. One of the pair only went for spares at the Lasham maintenance base, but the other was nicely overhauled and became G-BDIF in Dan-Air's mainstream fleet for about another four years.
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I'm sure there was a 707 at MAN, parked on the West Apron, as was, for a "very long time "....light blue / white colour scheme