Story ID: 
Hansen Helicopters Mx Director Pleads Guilty
By: Mark Huber
Caption: Phillip Kapp faced multiple charges including defrauding the FAA and NTSB
Word Count: 281
Hansen Helicopters director of maintenance Phillip “Turner” Kapp has pled guilty to defrauding the FAA and the NTSB. Kapp was facing multiple charges relating to illegal activities conducted by the Guam-based tuna spotting company.
The company and its CEO, John Walker, were found guilty last year on more than 100 charges relating to bribery, money laundering, hiring of unlicensed pilots and mechanics, use of unapproved parts, and data plate swapping to create what the prosecution termed “Frankenstein helicopters” from wrecked aircraft. The government charged that these practices were behind $400 million worth of fraud and, in part, responsible for up to nine deaths due to helicopter accidents over two decades.
Kapp originally was due to stand trial with Hansen as an entity and Walker as an individual, but Kapp requested that his case be severed while he was dealing with a significant medical issue. During the trial of Walker and Hansen, the prosecution produced voluminous e-mails from and to Kapp that clearly showed him to be an active participant in a widespread fraud scheme that included falsification of aircraft maintenance records and obstructing NTSB investigations.
Other defendants in the case included Hansen chief pilot Kenneth “Rufus” Crowe, Marvin Reed (Hansen’s vice president of operations), and two suppliers—Oregon-based Spares Inc. and Vanguard Aviation of Valdosta, Georgia. Spares pleaded guilty and agreed to a substantial forfeiture earlier this year, and the case against Crowe was dismissed on a technicality by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The case against Vanguard likely will not go to trial since its CEO is ill. The sentencing of Walker and Hansen is pending. Kapp's sentencing is scheduled for February.