12/09/201 1 101 2 FAX 2024935142 FAA ^ DMS 0001/00 3 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

OFHCE OF HEARINGS 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

RECEIVED 

DEC - 6 20H 

HEARING DOCKET 

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION. 

Complainant/Appellee, 

V. 

RUSHMORE HELICOPTERS, INC. 

Respondent/Appellant. 

FAA DOCKET NO. CP10GL0002 

(Civil Penalty Action) 

State of South Dakota) 

•)ss. 

County of Pennington ) 

DMS No. fAA-2010.-0023: ^ ^ 

i is 

> M 

AFFIDAVIT OF MICHAEL JACOB 

r n 

lilJ 

Comes no^v, Michael Jacob, being first duly swom on his oath, who deposes and 

states as follows: 

1. 1 am the President and sole stockholder of Rushmore Helicopters, Inc.. a 

South Dakota "S" corporation. 

2- J am not an attorney and 1 have no legal training. 

3. Rushmore Helicopters, Inc. ("Rushmore") acted pro se through me at the 

time of the hearing on April 27, 2011 and at all times prior in this matter because of 

financial reasons. 

4. Prior to the hearing and during the approximately one year period of time 

before the same, I had communicated on occasion with Complainant's then counsel, Mr. 

Chris Zurales. Mr. Zurales had proposed resolving this matter by offering that Rushmore 

pay a reduced fme. I told him that the business simply did not have the wherewithal to 

pay any type of substantial fme. The last proposal he made was he would reduce it to 

S16„'i00.00, and T told him that the business could not afford that much of a fine either. 

Hence, the matter went to hearing. 
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5. There was no discussion at the time of the hearing about ability to pay. I 

truly thought the focus of the hearing was on whether there was a violation or not and, if 

so, the extent of the same. 

6. Reference was made at the hearing to Black Hills Aerial Adventures, Inc. 

which is a separate company that operates out of Q completely separate location and is its 

own distinct and separate business operation. It does not **share" employees with 

Rushmore as was suggested at the hearing. That company, like Rushmore. uses 

employees from another company as they are not all needed full time at one location. 

Ruslimore is a distinct and separate business entity operating out of Keystone, South 

Dakota, and its primary focus ha^; been to provide tour."; of Mount Rushmore National 

Monument and the immediate area around it. 

7. The person who filed the complaint against Rushmore in this case (Mary 

Davis) is also the same person who has filed a civil lawsuit against Rushmore along with 

three other plaintiffs, two of whom operate businesses next door to the helipad and one 

who has a vacation home several miles away. They each have complained that 

Rushniore's operation in Keystone constimtes a "nui.iance" and is interrupting their 

businesses or their peace. These suits are being vigorously defended by Rushmore. Ms. 

Davis' lawsuit was commenced in the middle summer of 2010, after she made this 

complaint to the FAA. Mary Davis is a co-plaintiff with Stanford Adelstein and their 

lawsuit is filed in circuit court, Pennington County, South Dakota, Civ. No. 10-1866. A 

second lawsuit was filed by acquaintances of hers (Dean Botiorff and Joanell Ackerman), 

also alleging nuisance, and that matter is pending as well in circuit court for Pennington 

County, South Dakota. Civ. No. 10-1023. 

8. The lawsuits also name Rushmore's former landlord (KSD, Inc.) as a 

defendant. Rushmore was leasing its Keystone operations site from KSD through 2010 

and 1 believed that 1 would still be able to have the lease beginning June 2011 

(approximately 5 weeks after the hearing in this case) but that subsequently turned out to 

be wrong. These lawsuits began to escalate in the few months before the hearing in April 

201 ] and therefore placed a serious financial hardship on Rushmore in that it had to hire 

legal coun.sel to defend it. At the time of the hearing in this case, it was uncertain as to 

where the lawsuits would go. While it appeared that there may be reasonable chances for 
•"- I • <u, 1^ MX 2024935U 2 FAA 

^ DI^S @003/003 

Novemb:!"2o1t' " ' ^"° " " "^'"^^ "'^ 'y ^-'>- ' J-ob this ^? ^ day of 

^ VIRGINIA L. HARMON fj , 

l ^ (SCAbtARY PUBLIC ^ 1 

^ State of Souih Dakota ^ 

.••//^JV^--^. .>:6^./.-»^r'v.^ 

Notary Public, South Dakota 

My Commission Expires _/Vi^--^-'