Summary
- There will be no refund for the deposit of a closed flight school.
- Many enrolled students remain without training and money.
- The school’s owner recently filed for bankruptcy under the U.S. Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings.
On August 1, a flight school in Northern Virginia closed its doors and filed for bankruptcy shortly thereafter. The school, American Aviation Flight School, was reportedly closed due to its high business debts, which totaled between $10 million and $50 million, according to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA). However, students enrolled in the flight school were reportedly told they would not receive a refund for any deposits previously paid.
No refund possible
After the school closed in early August, many students currently enrolled in flight school or training were reportedly told they would not receive their flight school deposit back. One of the enrolled students, Thida Aung, told AOPA that she submitted her entire savings, about $100,000, up front to pay for her entire flight training program. Aung chose American Aviation Flight School as her first choice for a flight school because it was located at the Manassas Regional Airport (MNZ), close to where she lived.
The program Aung selected was called the “Career Pilot Package” and allowed the student to train as a pilot. This included 250 hours toward a career as an airplane pilot and also offered an “all-inclusive VIP with 30-hour job guarantee as a CFI upon completion,” according to AOPA. In addition to her initial $100,000 down payment for flight training, Aung also allegedly gave the school a $50,000 loan to finance another new aircraft. The school’s owner gave Aung a written promise to repay her for this particular loan.
Photo: EML | Shutterstock
However, Aung was told by the flight school’s owner, Kevin Rychlik, that she would not get any of her deposit back. An email obtained by FOX 5 Washington DC stated:
“After careful consideration and review of all possible scenarios, we have concluded that there is no viable path forward.”
In addition, the email stated that Rychlik suffered a severe stroke in September of last year, which was the primary reason for the school’s closure. After that, Rychlik suffered several more stroke-like episodes. The most recent incident occurred on July 19 and was very serious, leaving him unable to continue normal business operations.
Bankruptcy of a flight school in Virginia
Aung had only logged 3.5 hours of flying time when she received the email announcing the closure of the school, most recently renamed American Aviation Manassas LLC, effective August 1. According to AOPA, the email said the company would close after 21 years, cancel all flights and the office would not reopen.
Aung was clearly unhappy with the outcome of the closure. She told Fox 5:
“When you do business, you have responsibilities, don’t you? And you need a certain level of integrity to maintain trustworthiness in business, because of course we all have difficulties and obstacles in life that we have to overcome.”
According to AOPA, Rychlik officially filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on August 6. The primary reason for the filing was business debts that could potentially lead to many of the company’s creditors being unable to pay their debts. The bankruptcy filing lists a total of 123 creditors, including individuals, prospective students, insurance companies, and many other types of businesses as possible creditors. The school’s website has also already been taken offline.
