Aviation authority accused of examining wrong accounts on pilot school

Parents of the trainee pilots left up to €80,000 out of pocket by the collapse of a Waterford pilot school have accused the Irish Aviation Authority of examining the wrong accounts when re-licensing the school last year.

According to the parents, the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) investigated the accounts of Pilot Training College Waterford’s holding company, Shemburn, rather than PTC’s own accounts when analysing the financial health of the company last October.

Six months later, PTC Waterford collapsed, leaving nearly 300 students out of pocket and stranded in Florida.