Students enrolled in a Pembroke Pines flight school are frustrated after it abruptly shut down when the owner suddenly died in a plane crash.
Alfredo Diez, the owner of Atlantis Aviation Academy, and his wife, who managed operations, died in March in Virginia while trying to make an emergency landing. Their 3-year-old son and two pilots on board also died.
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Their deaths forced Atlantis Aviation to shut down, leaving more than a hundred students in the dark with no real option to continue their education.
“It’s really unfortunate, it's really sad," Corey Williams said. "It's hard to kind of navigate because you’ve got this tragic incident and then you’ve got to be on top of your schooling, so it's kind of a weird blend of frustration."
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Williams has wanted to fly since he was a kid. So the 35-year-old enrolled in Atlantis Aviation Academy to get his license. He said put everything on the line and even took out a $60,000 loan.
“I put everything into this — all my savings, I mean I went even as far as buying an RV and moving into that to save as much money so we can pay for testing and pay for everything," he said.
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In March, Williams was one step away from completing his license. But then the tragic accident involving the owner put things at a standstill.
“There’s plenty of stories about flight schools shutting down for other reasons from bankruptcy or what, not but this exact situation — never heard of it before," said Chase Olson, another Atlantis student. He paid for his training in cash.
Olson also wanted to fly since he was a child.
“My dad would take me to the airport and we walked around airplanes watch them take off and land, and ever since, I was two I wanted to do this," Olson said.
His dream, like many others who attended Atlantis, is now on hold. Many students are tied to existing school loans that can't be transferred or forgiven. In an email to one student, a probate attorney said it’s unlikely any refunds will be made.
The same attorney issued NBC6 a similar statement, saying, "It’s an extremely tragic and unfortunate situation. Since the flight school owners are all dead, the estate has to go through the legal process, and creditors are paid in a certain order. In this case, there are bank loans that are secured creditors and unfortunately, they are in a priority position over the students. It’s an unfortunate situation, but the law must be adhered to."
Olson and Williams hope they can get some kind of positive resolution, but are doubtful. The NTSB is still investigating the cause of the deadly crash.
