XX Davis Aeronautic Lose FAA Certification
SUMMARY
The State of Michigan, through agents of Governor Snyder dismantled a high school curriculum which
graduated licensed FAA accredited pilots and mechanics since World War II. 83
DETAILS
A complainant writes:
Davis Aerospace graduated licensed pilots and mechanics for more than 70 years. The FAA requires a fully
functional, airworthy plane on the premises. Under Snyder’s leadership, the plane was dissembled by
unlicensed mechanics and relocated to the culinary school where it remains inoperable, because it could not be
reassembled. It could not reassembled to the meet the regulations required by the FAA because of errors made
by unqualified mechanics. This was a loss of tens of thousands of dollars. A national mail delivery company
offered a fully functional 727 to Davis, and Ms. Hicks refused it.
Under Snyder, Davis Aerospace was moved from City Airport to Golightly so that Kevyn Orr could sell the City
Airport. (According to the Detroit Free Press, he said this in a speech to the Detroit Economic Club Tuesday,
Jan. 27, 2015. The article states that Kevyn Orr explained the city offered up its underused municipal airport to
creditors during bankruptcy settlement) as he was quoting stating in the news, but he was unsuccessful doing.
Now at Golightly, there is a dysfunctional air conditioning system which requires electrical upgrades to meet
the FAA requirements, and according to the FAA, the Davis school was moved to a culinary school with
improper zoning to operate an aviation school of this kind. If they run the engines at Golightly, in a R1
residential neighborhood, the community can sue….
Under Governor Snyder FAA accreditation has been suspended. Drafting was replaced with an artclass.
Avionics has been eliminated. The Airframe and Power classes are functioning without the students earning
FAA credit hours. In June, a second group of students graduated without FAA licensure.
ADVERSE IMPACT
The aviation field needs African Americans and for 70 years Detroit Public Schools filled that void.
The complainant writes:
When aviation mechanic students graduate, they can earn on average $45,000 a year. Pilots earn more.
Without licensure upon graduation, (which the students were promised, these classes upon their acceptance at
Davis), and now without FAA accreditation at Davis, to get the training, it will cost them as much as $80,000.
DISPARATE TREATMENT
Those graduating with licenses at Davis were overwhelmingly black students. Black students are no longer
graduating with FAA licenses.
ALTERNATIVE
An alternative would be to allow the school to remain at City Airport until there was a real buyer for the airport
who actually wanted the school to move. It is surprising how many corporations enjoy being good corporate
citizens. It would be a tax right off. This alternative required two seconds of thought. With real interest in the
students, it might be possible to come up with other ideas.
Another ideas would be to move the airplane from City Airport as an entire airplane, not piece by piece. A
fundraising effort might locate a donor plane. Because a plane was offered by a mail carrier, the principal could
accept the plane so that the school accreditation could be restored.
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