Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Federal Aviation Administration wants a Hillsboro-based flight school and charter company to pay more than a half-million dollars for problems uncovered almost two years ago. As Rob Manning reports, the company, Hillsboro Aviation, plans to fight the fine.

The FAA's allegations stem from what happened with three helicopters.

Two of them, had problems in the maintenance garage. The FAA says unauthorized mechanics installed sub-standard parts and often did the work later than they should've. To make matters worse, the FAA alleges the maintenance record was then fudged, to cover that up.

While all this was going on, the FAA says the two aircraft flew more than 500 times over the course of several months.

A third helicopter's problems weren't in the garage – they were in the air.

The FAA's nine-page summary of Hillsboro Aviation's problems identifies several violations from a single "reckless" flight. The helicopter flew under the I-5 and I-205 bridges, in July 2008.

The FAA says that endangered lives and property.  

All the problems are close to two years old, and Hillsboro Aviation officials say they've long since been fixed. Company officials say the workers involved in the poor maintenance and cover-up are gone, and new checks are in place to avoid future problems.

The company's general manager, Jon Hay, wouldn't speak on tape, but in a telephone interview he called the $580,000 dollar fine  "outrageous."

Hay says the FAA learned about the violations in the first place from Hillsboro Aviation's president, Max Lyons.

The FAA wouldn't discuss specifics of the Hillsboro Aviation penalty beyond documents that described the violations. But FAA officials say in general, fines can add up because every flight can constitute a new violation – and therefore a new fine.

Hillsboro Aviation intends to contest the amount of the fine.

Web extra:

Summary of FAA allegations against Hillsboro Aviation [.PDF]