New Ownership At Flight Design
Flight Design, based in Germany, has long held a top spot in deliveries of light sport airplanes in the U.S., but it has been in receivership in Germany since February 2016. The company announced in July it now has new owners, Lift Air, from Eisenach, Germany. “I am glad that we are able to maintain the know-how of one of the world’s market leaders in the light aircraft sector and to secure it with a well-funded investor,” said Knut Rebholz, insolvency administrator. The company will now be called Flight Design General Aviation GmbH. Tom Peghiny, president of Flight Design USA, told AVweb he’s “thrilled” with the news.
NTSB Completes Icon Accident Report
The May 8 crash that took the lives of two Icon employees was caused by “the pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from terrain while maneuvering at a low altitude,” the NTSB said in August in its final report on the crash. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s mistaken entry into a canyon surrounded by steep rising terrain while at a low altitude, for reasons that could not be determined. The investigators didn’t find any mechanical problem or failure with the Icon A5 light sport aircraft. Pilot Jon Karkow and passenger Cagri Sever died in the crash.
