Clearwater, Fla.-based fractional provider Avantair restarted operations on November 9, following a nearly three-week voluntary grounding of its approximately 60 Piaggio Avantis. The voluntary grounding was precipitated by a July 28 incident in which an Avantair-operated Avanti shed an elevator in flight and flew two subsequent legs before the crew noticed that the control surface was missing. “The Piaggio continued to fly normally for a few reasons, including its dual elevators, forward canards and high wings,” according to Avantair CEO Steve Santo.
Avantair reported the incident to the FAA and NTSB, and it launched its own investigation. “One immediate finding from our own examination of the situation was of great concern to us. The missing elevator was discovered near a runway from which the crew had taken off on an earlier leg the same day,” Santo said. “This indicated the crew had failed to perform the mandatory and routine walk-around to inspect the airplane following that first leg.” As a result of this violation, the crewmembers are “no longer employed at Avantair.”
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