Blackhawk International Airways

Blackhawk International Airways was an aircraft charter rental and leasing company based at New Providence in the Bahamas.[1] Blackhawk was owned by Gilbert Chacón and his son Erik who founded the company in 1991. The small charter and tour business, which recently moved to a small office next to the Lantana Airport, was at one time based at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport.

Blackhawk appears to be no longer in operation.

The Florida Public Records Office reports "Blackhawk International Airways Corp. was incorporated on Tuesday, March 05, 1991 in the State of FL and is currently not active."

FAA Issues

Blackhawk had been fined by the FAA four times before, including once for violating safety standards and once for failing to comply with maintenance standards. The 1999 charge took the company to task for failing to test its employees for illegal drug use.[2]

2001 crash

Nine people, including American R&B singer Aaliyah, the pilot and seven others, including make up artists and record label executives, were killed in a Cessna 402B (N8097W) crash on August 25, 2001 at Marsh Harbour, Abaco Islands, The Bahamas.[3] The pilot, Luis Morales III, was unlicensed at the time of the accident and had traces of cocaine and alcohol in his system.[4] Aaliyah's family later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Blackhawk International Airways, which was settled out of court. The Cessna 402B exploded on impact just 200 feet beyond the end of a runway at Marsh Harbour International Airport on Abaco Island at 6:45 p.m. The craft, which was bound for Opa-locka Airport, just northwest of Miami, was apparently overloaded.[5] Blackhawk was listed in Customs documents as the official operator while Skystream was the plane's owner.[4] Others killed in the accident included Aaliyah, 22, hairstylists Anthony Dodd, 34, and Eric Forman, 29; video production director Douglas Kratz, 28; makeup artist Christopher Maldonado, 32; Blackground Records executive Gina Smith, 29; and Keith Wallace, 49.

References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2011-02-24.
  2. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2011-02-24.
  3. ↑ NTSB (2001-08-25). "NTSB Identification: MIA01RA225". Retrieved 2007-09-26.
  4. 1 2 http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1448503/pilot-aaliyahs-plane-had-ben-caught-with-cocaine.jhtml
  5. ↑ http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1448459/aaliyah-crash-investigation-no-end-sight.jhtml

External links

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