Kemper still can teach US citizens to fly

Following three fatal accidents in five months, Kemper Aviation, Lantana, Florida, on Tuesday permanently closed the portion of its flight school that catered to foreign students, a government agency announced.
Kemper largely served students from India, where it conducted a marketing campaign.
The company “voluntarily surrendered its pilot school certificate,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. “The certificate is now void.”
The FAA said the certificate permitted Kemper to train foreign students, a large part of its business. Akshay Mohan, co-owner of the company based at Palm Beach County Park airport west of Lantana, was not available for comment.
Technically, Kemper can continue teaching students to fly — as long as they are U.S. citizens, FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said.
That is because the company gave up what’s called a Part 141 certificate, which specifically allowed it to train foreigners.
“They can still train [U.S. citizens] under another section of the federal aviation regulations, Part 61,” she said.
Kemper had suspended flight school operations following the March 13 crash of one of its planes in Martin County, company officials said earlier. That accident killed Kemper’s other co-owner, Jeffrey Rozelle, and three Florida Atlantic University researchers.
Even before that crash, the FAA had launched an investigation into Kemper because of two earlier fatal accidents: a training crash Oct. 27 that left two dead and a mid-air collision Dec. 8, killing two.
The investigation continues, despite Kemper’s action Tuesday, the FAA said.
26/03/08 Ken Kaye/Sun-Sentinel/TCPalm, USA