Avantair Fleet Grounding Apparently Continues

The voluntary fleet grounding at Avantair apparently is continuing into its sixth day. Avantair told AIN earlier this week that it stood down its entire fleet of about 60 Piaggio Avantis on Saturday to conduct safety checks. According to sources, the action was prompted by a July 28 incident in which an Avantair Avanti shed an elevator in flight. On Tuesday, Avantair reported that 40 of its aircraft were back in service, but data from flight-tracking website FlightAware shows that none of the company’s aircraft are in the air today, suggesting the entire fleet is again grounded. Avantair was not available for comment at press time.