Accidents
Former Avantair Mx Director Pleads Guilty to Tampering
An employee of the former Avantair admitted to attempting to hinder federal authorities investigating why an elevator detached from one of its aircraft.

A former director of maintenance for now-defunct fractional provider Avantair pleaded guilty last week in U.S. District Court in Tampa, Florida, to obstructing a federal accident investigation after the July 28, 2012 in-flight loss of an elevator from one of the company’s Piaggio P.180 Avantis near Camarillo, California. David Ernest Esteves admitted to intentionally hindering the NTSB and FAA investigations by instructing a contractor to remove parts from the aircraft involved after the incident and then power the airplane up, thereby erasing the cockpit voice recordings.