Press Release
Aircraft Mechanic Sentenced to Federal Prison for Falsifying the Airworthiness of an Aircraft Part
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida
Ocala, Florida – Senior U.S. District Judge Wm. Terrell Hodges has sentenced Clive Felix Ure (58) to 12 months in federal prison for falsifying the airworthiness of a propeller that he had sold to the owner of a private plane. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $67,772.14. Ure pleaded guilty on July 10, 2014.
According to court documents, Ure held Federal Aviation Administration licenses as an aircraft mechanic and a private pilot. In September 2012, he agreed to sell a propeller, which he had listed on eBay, to the owner of a private plane in Oregon. During negotiations regarding the sale, Ure represented that the propeller had been overhauled and that it had not been used since the overhaul.
In fact, an FAA-certified propeller repair station had told Ure that the propeller was not airworthy and could not be overhauled for use on an airplane. At the time Ure sold the propeller, it not been overhauled. To “prove” that the propeller had been overhauled, Ure sent the buyer a log book in which there was a false entry for the overhaul. He also stamped a false serial number on the propeller because the true serial number had been obliterated by the propeller repair station, at the direction of the FAA.
In addition, as part of his plea agreement, Ure agreed to pay restitution to another private plane owner and to a flight training school, both of whom had engaged Ure to overhaul aircraft engines. When he overhauled the engines, Ure used parts that had not been approved by the FAA, some of which were unairworthy. The engines subsequently had to be closely inspected and overhauled again, at significant expense. The court ordered Ure to pay restitution in the amount of $49,136.86 to the private plane owner and in the amount of $18,635.28 to the flight training school.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General and the Federal Aviation Administration. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Arnold B. Corsmeier.
Updated February 5, 2015
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