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FAA Grounds Aircraft for Improper Registration

Agency alleges violations of U.S. citizenship requirements.

FAA headquarters in Washington, D.C.
FAA headquarters in Washington, D.C. [Credit: Shutterstock]
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • The FAA grounded approximately 800 aircraft registered through U.K.-based Southern Aircraft Consultancy Inc. (SACI) due to invalid registrations caused by SACI's violation of U.S. citizenship requirements for trust agreements.
  • The FAA demanded the return of registration certificates within 21 days, stating that affected aircraft owners must re-register their aircraft to operate legally.
  • SACI announced that U.S.-based Valiair will take over the company to restore compliance and get the aircraft back in the air, though SACI plans to strongly challenge the FAA's decision.
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The owners of aircraft registered through U.K.-based Southern Aircraft Consultancy Inc. (SACI) have been notified their aircraft were grounded after the FAA determined the registrations were invalid because the company was in violation of U.S. citizenship requirements when it submitted the applications.

The agency demanded the return of the certificates within 21 days.

Meg Godlewski

Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.

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