Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials have dismissed a discrimination complaint filed against state Department of Transportation (DOT) officials, regarding helipad assignments at Lihu‘e Airport. The complaint was filed last month by Paul Asmus, co-founder of the now-defunct South Sea Helicopters,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials have dismissed a discrimination complaint filed against state Department of Transportation (DOT) officials, regarding helipad assignments at Lihu‘e Airport.
The complaint was filed last month by Paul Asmus, co-founder of the now-defunct South Sea Helicopters, Inc.
Asmus said from his Palo Alto, Calif. home he would refile the complaint shortly addressing the FAA leaders’ reasons for their decision.
The complaint by Asmus and PD Aviation Consulting & Leasing, LLC, was made against state Department of Transportation Director Rodney Haraga in his capacity as state DOT director. It charged Haraga with discrimination for not maintaining a wait list for helipad assignments.
The complaint was filed under federal Part 16 rules, which refer to the section of the federal aviation regulations that set out and provide for the complaint process, according to Donn Walker, manager of communications and media relations for the FAA in Los Angeles.
The complaint was submitted June 6 and stamped June 13.
“The complaint has been dismissed without prejudice. In a nutshell, that means Asmus is free to re-file it at a later date,” Walker said.
“It was dismissed because it was deemed to be incomplete because it wasn’t specific enough, and it didn’t contain a certification of substantial and reasonable good-faith efforts at informal resolution, as required under federal law.”
In a letter dated June 29 signed by David L. Bennett, director, FAA Office of Airport Safety and Standards, Asmus was informed, “the complaint is dismissed without prejudice as incomplete under (Part) 16 CFR subsection 16.27 to allow complainant to correct deficiencies noted above.”
Asmus said FAA officials in Washington D.C. “were not in the loop,” and had not been in contact with Hawai‘i FAA leaders, and that some of the “deficiencies” Bennett referred to were actually known to Ron Simpson, FAA airport district office manager in Honolulu.
Asmus said he would re-file his complaint with the specifics needed.
Asmus, who started the company in 1981 and who said he wrangled with DOT leaders for 11 years, said last month he is seeking helipad space under a new corporate entity to be named later.
The details of the complaint date back to 1989, and take DOT officials to task for allegedly not adhering to state administrative rules as to the allotment of helipad spaces at Lihu‘e Airport, and DOT officials’ failure to answer questions or provide clarity and responses pursuant to its waiting list for helipads.
Asmus sold his interest in South Sea Helicopters Inc. in 1992, but did not withdraw from litigation against DOT officials. That suit was ultimately dismissed in December 2004, he said. On July 17, 2000, Asmus filed an application for space at Lihu‘e Airport on behalf of PD Aviation and Consulting Inc. and himself, utilizing the 1991 administrative rules.
He said these rules clearly dictate that airport managers maintain a wait list.
He claimed he was informed in a letter dated July 31, 2000 from the Lihu‘e Airport district manager (unnamed) that “no wait lists are being maintained for these helipads.”
He said this was in direct contrast to the stated policy in Hawaii Administrative Rules 19-17.1-3(B), which state in part: “The filing date of the completed application shall establish the applicant’s position on the respective waiting list, which shall be established and maintained for each public airport as needed. Each district airport shall maintain and make available to interested parties the waiting list showing the information required by this subsection of this section.”
Asmus said that in January 2005 he submitted a new application for additional pads, and was never given a copy of the waiting list for helipad spots.
DOT Airports Division officials are still reviewing options in regard to a $6-million improvement project for the Lihu‘e Airport heliport, including the space between helipads, said DOT spokesman Scott Ishikawa. Ishikawa said the DOT leaders are waiting on FAA final approval on proposed changes.
Walker said in an earlier interview that when FAA officials receive a Part-16 complaint, they first notify airport officials (or individuals) who are the subject of the complaint. After that, the respondent has 20 days to respond to the complaint.
Then, the complainant has 10 days to respond to the respondent’s response. The respondent then has the same option.
Walker said that, after all of that has played out, FAA officials then have 120 days to issue a decision as to how, if at all, the complaint will be resolved.
That decision is issued by the director of airport safety and standards. That decision can then be appealed to the FAA’s associate administrator of airports within 30 days. The associate administrator then will issue a final decision within 60 days.
- Andy Gross, business editor, 245-3681 (ext. 251) or agross@pulitzer.net.
