Federal investigators have testified that the charter jet operated by Florida-based Platinum Jet Management had frequently violated standards required by federal regulators before a crash at Teterboro airport in 2005. The crash injured 20 people, and the operators of Platinum Jet Management have been on trial over the past three weeks.
The trial involves brothers and cofounders of the company, Michael and Paul Brassington as well as the company’s maintenance chief, Brian McKenzie. Assistant US Attorney Scott McBride alleged in his opening statement that the brothers played a shocking game of Russian roulette on the runway to boost profits. According to prosecutors, the brothers and McKenzie hatched a 2 ½-year-old conspiracy. The company’s planes were overfilled to dangerous capacities at airports where fuel was available at lower prices.
The federal investigator’s testimony mirrors the investigative report by the National Transportation Safety Board. That report said that the plane crashed because crews hadn’t bothered to properly calculate the weight of the plane. As a result, the plane took off with a center of gravity that was too far forward. The plane crashed through a fence at the end of the Teterboro airport runway and into a busy intersection. There, it struck several cars before finally ending up in a warehouse full of people. The plane burst into flames and 20 passengers were injured. Three former employees of the company have already pleaded guilty, and the pilot of the plane is currently facing trial in Florida.
Since the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration has begun a nationwide review of the operations of charter jet companies. Fortunately, California plane crash lawyers see one good outcome from that review. The FAA eliminated a practice that allows one charter company to operate on the certificate of another.
It is good that Platinum Jet Management have been on trial over the past three weeks.