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The 2005 Teterboro crash
Francis Vieira, 60, of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., became a key witness in the government’s case against four co-conspirators from Platinum Jet Management, LLC who, he testified, conspired to defraud charter customers and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Although Platinum Jet didn’t have the necessary licenses, charter flights zipped in and out of Teterboro — until the day in February 2005 when a company jet carrying a group of investment bankers failed to get off the ground, skidded across Route 46 and smashed into a furniture warehouse on the other side.
Vieira admitted in federal court in Newark that he altered safety records for the jet that crashed at Teterboro by changing the weight and center of gravity listings — more than two dozen times.
He also hid the fact that the captain, John Kimberling, wasn’t fit to fly under federal regulations, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott B. McBride, the lead prosecutor in the case.
Others who pleaded guilty for their roles in the scam include Joseph Singh, the former director of charters for Platinum Jet, and co-founder Andre Budhan, who admitted scheming to defraud charter customers and the FAA, launching roughly 100 illegal flights that netted more than $1 million.
As a result, jurors convicted Michael Brassington – the former president, CEO, chief pilot and co-founder of Platinum Jet — and his brother, Paul, a vice president and co-founder of deliberately ignoring FAA regulations for luxury commercial charters.
In addition to the criminal charges, the charter operator also has been fined more than $1.86 million. The Brassingtons and Budhan are scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 20.
U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman credited special agents of the Department of Transportation for a massive investigation that led to the pleas.
“A pattern of fraud and deception is not a business plan,” Fishman said, accusing the Brassingtons of putting “the pursuit of profits over public safety…. [T]here are consequences when you break the law to boost your bottom line.”
Kimberling was the pilot in February 2005, when the ill-fated Teterboro plane taxied onto the tarmac and then headed north along the runway, picking up speed as it went. As it hit 135 knots, Kimberling inexplicably chose to abort the takeoff. By that point, however, the speed had reached 160 knots and there was no slowing the aircraft down.
The twinjet blew through an airport fence and careened across the busy highway, hitting two people in a car. Then it smashed into a clothing factory warehouse and burst into flames.
Five of the eight passengers along with a cabin aide got out with little more than scratches. Kimberling, another passenger and the two people in the car were taken to nearby hospitals.
Investigators soon found that Platinum had violated regulations on nearly 50 passenger-carrying flights. The violations quickly mounted.
Perhaps the most dangerous of all, McBride said, was Platinum Jet’s “dangerous and fraudulent” practice of “tankering,” which he said contributed to the Teterboro crash by shifting the aircraft’s center of gravity too far forward.
“Tankering” is an illegal way of cutting costs by taking advantage of less expensive fuel contracts, then overfueling the tanks to the extent that the center of gravity moves too far forward.
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