Silver State Helicopters

Silver State Helicopters started out in 1999 at Henderson Executive Airport with one Robinson R-22 helicopter. The original three owners were later bought out by their partner, Jerry M. Airola. Their primary purpose was helicopter flight training in Robinson R-22 helicopters. They also offered sight seeing tours and charter services. In 2002, Silver State began expanding into other helicopter operations such as external load (14 CFR Part 133) operations and subsequently on demand air-taxi operations (14 CFR Part 135) operations through their acquisition of Vista Helicopter Services on Las Vegas, Nevada. Vista Helicopter specialized in lucrative golf course charter flights among other helicopter charter services.

Board of Directors

The company is headed up by founder and CEO Jerry Airola along with Steven Pickett, Chief Financial Officer; Rick Reyes, Chief Operations Officer Flight Training; Nathan Todd, Chief Operations Officer for Commercial Operations; Doug Swenson, Chief Technology Officer; Robbie Cunningham, Chief Administrative Officer and Tim Nelson, Chief of Staff.

Gina Paglione is Vice President of Silver State's legal division.

Jerry M. Airola

Jerry M. Airola is a self made multi-millionare and the owner of Silver State Helicopters. He was born and raised in Calaveras County in Northern California in 1965. He married at the age of 18 and later attended the police academy in Modesto, CA in 1990. In 1991 he was hired as a police officer in the small town of Los Banos, CA (population at the time was about 15,000). He served as a patrol officer until 1993 when he was fired from the department. Airola claimed he was fired because he tried to oust the chief of police and later won a $300,000 USD wrongful termination lawsuit against the city.

In 1995 he started a business in Las Vegas, NV called Hague Quality Water but was sworn in as a reserve duputy sheriff for the Tuolumne County Sheriff's Department before he left for Las Vegas. This allowed Airola to retain his peace officer status in California. It is unclear how long he served with the Tuolumne County Sheriff's Department.

Airola filed for divorce in 1998 and claimed to be earning about $80,000 a year from his business, which he claims he split with his parents. Airola sold Hague Quality Water on Nevada, LLC in 1999 to Lance K. Henderson. Henderson hired Airola as a temporary general manager of Hague Quality Water since he understood the company.

Airola was also sworn in as a reserve deputy sheriff with the Merced County Sheriff's Department in California in 2004. In September is 2005 the Sheriff of Merced County severed his ties with Airola and ordered him to turn in his badge and gun. The reason being was that Airola was not a resident of the state of California.

In 2006, Airola ran for Sheriff of Clark County, Nevada. During his campaign for Sheriff, Airola claimed he was currently a "cop" and was qualified to serve as Sheriff. Las Vegas investigative journalist George Knapp of KLAS-TV Channel 8 argued the only full time experience Airola has as a police officer was in the small town of Los Banos, CA from 1991 to 1993 when he served as a patrol officer. Clark County Sheriff Bill Young said Airola was telling "outright lies" during his run for Sheriff of Clark County. Airola lost the race for Clark County Sheriff to Douglas C. Gillespie.

After losing the race for Sheriff, Airola filed a lawsuit against the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Sheriff Bill Young and the Las Vegas Police Protective Association claiming emotional distress, humiliation and violation of civil rights.

Airola has been sued himself. In September 2000, R.H. Donnelly company sued him for $53,136 for unpaid bills for phone book advertisements. The case was later settled in March 2002. He is also being sued in Utah Bankruptcy courty for $3.5 million USD for a case stemming from his involvement in Hague Water Quality. The case is still pending.

In February 2001, Henderson and Airola co-signed a lease which later lead to an $83,000 lawsuit. Airola later spent $30,000 to settle the lawsuit.

Fleet

Silver State Helicopters owns and operates about 240 helicopters of various types:

• Robinson R-22
• Robinson R-44
• Bell 206B-III JetRanger
• Bell 206 L-1, L-3 and L-4 LongRangers
• Bell 222
• Bell 230
• Bell 407
• Bell UH-1H
• EurocopterEC-120 Eurocopter Colibri
• MD 500D
• SA-315 Lama

Expansion

Silver State Helicopters has made unprecedented expansions across the United States for a helicopter company, especially one that specializes in flight training. It currently holds its corporate headquarters at 500 East Cheyenne Avenue in North Las Vegas, Nevada and has flight academies in:

1. Mesa, Arizona – Williams Gateway Airport
2. Glendale, Arizona
3. Tucson, Arizona
4. Camarillo, California
5. Chino, California – Chino Airport
6. Long Beach, California
7. Los Banos, California
8. Oakland, California
9. Sacramento, California – McClellan AFB
10. San Diego, California (El Cajon) – Gillespie Field
11. Pueblo, Colorado – Pueblo Memorial Airport
12. Fort Lauderdale, Florida
13. Jacksonville, Florida
14. Lakeland, Florida – Lakeland Linder Regional Airport
15. Melbourne, Florida
16. Atlanta, Georgia (Kennesaw)
17. Boise, Idaho
18. St. Louis, Missouri (Chesterfield) – Spirit of St. Louis Airport
19. Butte, Montana – Bert Mooney Airport
20. Helena, Montana
21. Las Vegas, Nevada
22. New Windsor, New York
23. Raleigh, North Carolina
24. Tulsa, Oklahoma – Tulsa International Airport
25. Salem, Oregon
26. Columbia, South Carolina (West Columbia)
27. Dallas, Texas
28. Fort Worth, Texas
29. Houston, Texas (Spring) – David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport
30. New Braunfels, Texas – New Braunfels Municipal Airport
31. Ogden, Utah
32. Provo, Utah
33. Arlington, Washington
34. Tacoma, Washington (Gig Harbor)

Silver State has expanded their business into the training potential Air Traffic Control candidates through their Air Traffic Control Academy in New Braunfels, Texas. Silver State claims 13 of their 15 graduates from their inaugural class were offered employment with the FAA.

Controversies

Expansion has not come without a price for Silver State Helicopters however. Silver State Helicopters has had numerous lawsuits filed against it, in numerous states across the country. In one case reported by the Las Vegas Business Press, a case was filed in the U.S. District Court in Phoenix, plantiffs claimed Silver State failed to deliver on its promise to train aspiring helicopter pilots. The case was dismissed in April of 2007 but the parties involved are negotiating to reach a settlement. In the Phoenix case, 18 plantiffs were demanding a $5 million USD minimum, not including attorney fees, for their failed promises by Silver State training schools in Arizona.

One of the plantiffs, Paul Mischel, in the suit claims he refinanced his house in order to pay a $55,000 USD loan to pay for 7 helicopter certificates/ratings which were supposed to be completed in 18 months, as advertised by Silver State Helicopters. 27 months into the program and he only had 3 of those certificates, which he claims are worthless.

Mischel, and other plantiffs claim, the school they attended did not have adequate equipment and resources to teach a class with 78 students. The school did not have enough helicopters, simulators and instructors.

Mischel claimed he never completed his training but the way the loan was structured through Key Bank, the banking institution already paid Silver State the full amount in 10 months.

In one of the more recent lawsuits, filed in June in the U.S. District Court in San Diego, 21 plaintiffs claimed Airola often made promises he didn't keep. The plaintiffs are asking for refunds of their tuition, which range from $50,000 to $75,000 per student. Silver State Helicopters claims it has reimbursed 19 of the 21 students involved in the San Diego lawsuit.

In similar lawsuits filed in District Court in Las Vegas, two students claimed Silver State Helicopters didn't provide them with enough flight time to complete their training. The company reimbursed their tuition and the suits were settled.

Silver State has settled cases in the past, however, these cases usually involve confidentiality agreements so the details of the settlements remain undisclosed. Silver State claims only about 1 percent of students have filed lawsuits against Silver State, however, they won't disclose how many students the company has trained.

Airola claims the lawsuits against him are the price of doing business. In the past three years the Better Business Bureau of Southern Nevada has received 16 complaints against Silver State Helicopters. Eleven were for contract disputes.

According to the bureau's Web site, all of the complaints have been resolved or administratively closed, and the company has a satisfactory rating.

Incidents and accidents

On September 14, 2007 in Oakland, California, a Silver State operated R-22 Beta II N132SH crashed during a supervised solo flight by a student pilot during an approach to land with a 10 knot crosswind. The student was not injured..

On September 12, 2007 in Long Beach, California, a Silver State R-22 Beta N965SH crashed while hovering. The student pilot lost directional control of the helicopter and the instructor was unable to regain control of the aircraft before impacting the ground.

On August 28, 2007 in St. Clair, Missouri, a Silver State R-22 Beta N143SH was being flown by a student pilot and crashed during a hovering turn near the ground. The student pilot was not injured.

On July 24, 2007 in Boise, Idaho a Silver State R-22 Beta II N147SH crashed during a practice autorotation. The student allowed the RPM to decay to the point where the instructor had to take the controls and attempted a run-on landing. The instructor struggled on the controls with the student pilot and hit the ground hard. The helicopter spun around and came to rest on its side. Both suffered minor injuries.

On July 3, 2007 also in Long Beach, California, a Silver State R-22 Beta N457SH crashed while performing a practice hovering autorotation. The student was conducting a practice hovering autorotation and crashed during the maneuver. The instructor was unable to regain control of the helicopter before the accident.

On April 21, 2007 in Van Horn, Texas, a Silver State R-22 Beta N971SH collided with another helicopter while manaeuvering near the fuel pumps at Culberson County Airport. The Silver State pilot was attempting to make room for additional helicopters and got too close to another helicopter which was still running. The blades contacted each other. No one was injured.

On March 27, 2007 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, a R-44 Raven II from Silver State at Craig Municipal Airport suffered a mechanical failure which led to loss of directional control. The loss of control led to a fatal crash of the aircraft which took the lives of the instructor Tamara Williams and student pilot Juston Wyatt Duncan, 24. The fatal flight was the first flight after a 100/300 hour maintenance inspection was completed which included a 30 minute test flight before returning the aircraft back into service. Tamara's sister Shannon filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Silver State Helicopters in August 2007.

On February 19, 2007 in Tucson, Arizona, a Silver State R-22 Beta N453SH crashed during a simulated emergency procedure. During the maneuver, the instructor was unable to overcome the grip the student had on the throttle to recover the aircraft. The aircraft landed hard and the main rotor impacted the tailboom.

On January 21, 2007 in Salem, Oregon, a Silver State R-22 Beta II N924SH crashed while a student pilot, conducting his second supervised solo flight, encountered a dynamic roll over situation. The student pilot was uninjured.

On October 10, 2006 in Chino, California, a Silver State R-22 Beta N821SH experienced an engine failure during departure from Cable Airport. The instructor took the controls from the private pilot and performed a successful autorotation. Neither pilot was injured. In a preliminary report by the NTSB, it appears the engine failure was due to a mechanical problem.

On September 24, 2006 in Shiatook, Oklahoma, a Silver State R-22 Beta N468SH crashed while being piloted by a student pilot attempting to take off for his first solo flight. The student pilot stated the helicopter became airborne much quicker than he expected while raising the collective lever. The helicopter rolled right then left and encountered a dynamic roll over situation when the left skid contacted the ground.

On August 16, 2006 in Havre, Montana, a Silver State Bell 407 N407SH crashed while performing a long line (sling) operation with an external load underneath. As the pilot approached the area where he was going to land the load, he inadvertently allowed the helicopter to settle into a vortex ring state (Settling with power) and impacted the ground. The helicopter bounced before coming to rest. The pilot was uninjured.

On August 11, 2006 in Boise, Idaho, a Silver State R-22 Beta N228SH sustained substantial damage following a practice 180 degree autorotation maneuver. During the maneuver, the instructor attempted to add power and initiate a go-around, however, the helicopter his the runway and bounced back into the air. The damage was not seen until after they landed and inspected the helicopter.

On July 28, 2006 in Chino, California, a Silver State R-22 Beta N475SH crashed while performing instruction for a student pilot doing hover turns. The helicopter spun, struck the ground and rolled onto its left side. Neither pilot was injured.

On June 15, 2006 in Vernal, Utah, a Silver State Bell 206L N265SH crashed almost immediately after takeoff from a landing zone approximately 7,500 feet above mean sea level. The FAA inspector determined the pilot used the wrong chart to determine the helicopter's performance at that altitude which led to the crash.

On October 3, 2005 in Tucson, Arizona, a Silver State R-22 N926SH crashed during a practice 180 degree autorotation. The instructor was unable to recover from the student's error and performed an autorotation to the ground during which the helicopter skid on the ground. One skid dug into the soft ground and caused the helicopter to roll 3 times before coming to a stop. The instructor and student received minor injuries.

On September 20, 2005 in Baker, California, a Silver State R-22 Beta N957SH crashed during a positioning flight of new helicopters to their respective destinations. The flight originated at the factory when Silver State took delivery of 12 new helicopters. The accident pilot was assigned to fly his helicopter to North Las Vegas following 3 other Robinson helicopters. The aircraft were spaced about 15 minutes apart. The accident pilot departed Torrance Airport (Zamperini Field) at about 2:25 pm local time and was attempting to arrive in North Las Vegas by 4:00 pm. The normal flight time for this route in this type of aircraft would normally take 2.5 to 3 hours. The accident pilot flew into adverse weather conditions which included rain, low clouds, lightning and moderate turbulance. A California Highway Patrol pilot had warned the accident pilot earlier of the rain and lightning to the northeast of the accident pilot's route. The next morning the Silver State office determined the accident pilot did not reach his destination and initiated a search. The pilot was sadly killed in the crash.

On August 27, 2005 in Boise, Idaho, a Silver State R-22 Beta N845SH crashed during a practice autorotation. The instructor noticed the student pilot allowed the RPM to drop to about 94 percent so he elected to take the controls and recover the helicopter. During the transition to taking the controls there was a struggle for the controls with the student pilot and the helicopter impacted the ground hard which caused substantial damage to the helicopter.

On May 25, 2005 in Jean, Nevada, a Silver State R-22 Beta II N192SH crashed during a practice 180 degree autorotation. The student allowed the RPM to drop to about 92 percent when the instructor tried to recover the helicopter. The helicopter collided with a fence then impacted terrain. Neither pilot was injured.

On May 23, 2005 in Provo, Utah, a Silver State R-22 Beta N553SH incident caused substaintial damage to the aircraft following an instruction flight with an instructor and student pilot. During the practice maneuver, the low rotor RPM horn sounded and the student pilot released the controls. The instructor took the controls and attempted to recover, however, the struck terrain and rolled over.

On March 26, 2005 in Los Banos, California, a Silver State R-22 Beta N820SH suffered structural damage to the tailboom and fuselage following a practice autorotation. The student pilot was studying to become an instructor pilot also. At the conclusion of the autorotation maneauver, the student pilot attempted to roll the throttle back on and the engine immediately quit. The instructor took the controls and successfully landed the helicopter with substaintial damage. The cause of the engine quiting was determined to be the instructors failure to add carburator heat during a simulated engine failure. The instructor for which are outlined in the pilot's operating manual.

On February 22, 2005 in Spanish Fork, Utah, a Silver State R-22 Beta N780SH sustained substainal damage after hitting the ground hard following a practice 180 degree autorotation maneauver. Neither the student nor the instructor pilots were injured.

References

• Swift Chopper Pilots for Truth

External links

• Silver State Helicopters (official site)
• Silver State Helicopters Flight Academy (official site)
• Silver State Air Traffic Control Academy (official site)