Order 2012-11-24

Served:November 20, 2012 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 20th day of November, 2012

Fitness Determination of

TWIN AIR CALYPSO LIMITED, INC.

for authority to engage in scheduled passenger operations as 

a commuter air carrier under 49 U.S.C. § 41738

Docket DOT-OST-2011-0143

ORDER DISMISSING APPLICATION

Summary

By this order, we dismiss the application of Twin Air Calypso Limited, Inc. (“Twin Air 

Calypso”), for authority to engage in scheduled passenger operations as a commuter air carrier. 

Our review of the record in this case indicates that Twin Air Calypso has failed to establish that 

it possesses the managerial competency to oversee its current and proposed operations, and that 

it has proper regard for the laws and regulations governing its services.

Statutory Standard

Section 41110(e) of Title 49 of the United States Code (the “Transportation Code”) provides that 

the requirement that air carriers be “fit” to perform air transportation services is a continuing one 

and that an air carrier’s authority shall be amended, modified, suspended, or revoked if it fails to 

remain fit, willing, and able to provide the air transportation authorized by its economic 

authority, which includes failure to comply with the regulations governing its operations.

Additionally, section 302.210 of our regulations (14 CFR § 302.210) provides for dismissal of an 

application if it is materially deficient.

The Application

On July 20, 2011, Twin Air Calypso filed an application in Docket DOT-OST-2011-0143 for 

authority to conduct scheduled passenger operations as a commuter air carrier pursuant to section 

41738 of the Transportation Code. Twin Air Calypso accompanied its application with the 

fitness information required by section 204.3 of our regulations, and subsequently filed 

additional information at our request.1 

 

1 Twin Air Calypso updated the record with additional information on October 20, 2011, and December 18, 2011.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
2

No answers opposing Twin Air Calypso’s application were filed. However, as discussed below, 

the information provided by the applicant and other sources does not demonstrate that it meets

our fitness requirements. Therefore, we dismiss Twin Air Calypso’s application for commuter 

authority. 

Background

Twin Air Calypso, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is a wholly owned subsidiary of AvStar 

Aviation Group, Inc. (“AvStar Aviation”), a Colorado corporation which acquired the air carrier 

in 2010.2 The company, until recently, held an air carrier certificate issued by the Federal 

Aviation Administration (“FAA”) that authorized it to engage in on-demand operations pursuant 

to 14 CFR Part 135,

3 and conducted on-demand operations as an air taxi under 14 CFR Part 

298.4 It operated a fleet of three Cessna 402C aircraft and two Piper PA31s between points in 

Florida and the Bahamas. Mr. Clayton Gamber serves as the air carrier’s President and Director 

of Maintenance, and the President and Chief Executive Officer of AvStar Aviation. 

Areas of Concern 

By letter dated October 13, 2011, the Department requested information from Twin Air Calypso 

based on the results of an investigation initiated by the FAA on the company’s holding out of 

scheduled service exceeding that allowed under the exemption authority conferred by 14 CFR 

Part 298. In that letter, the Department informed the company that pursuant to section 298.2 

and 298.3, before Twin Air Calypso may lawfully hold out and/or operate five or more 

roundtrips according to a published schedule in any market, it must first be found fit as a 

commuter air carrier under 49 U.S.C. § 41783, and that its failure to do so violated 49 U.S.C. §§ 

41101 and 41783 and 14 CFR Part 298. The Department also noted its concern about Twin Air 

Calypso’s apparent misconduct given that in 2005, Twin Town Leasing Company d/b/a Twin 

Air, a related company, was the subject of a consent order for operating unauthorized commuter 

operations.5

 

2 Founded in 1978 as the aircraft operating arm of Red Aircraft Services in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Twin Town 

Leasing Company d/b/a Twin Air initially leased aircraft to government units and avionics suppliers. Twin Air 

transported personnel, equipment, and freight for its customers and by the 1980s, it had increased its operations to 

the Bahamas, particularly Eleuthera, beginning with high priority freight service and moving towards predominantly 

passenger service. In 2004, Twin Air began to supply service for another operator, Calypso Air (“Calypso”), whose 

primary market was the Abaco islands. In 2005, Twin Air absorbed Calypso and became Twin Air Calypso 

Limited, Inc.

3 On August 7, 2012, the FAA issued an emergency order of revocation of Twin Air Calypso’s Air Carrier 

Certificate and required that the company immediately surrender its Air Carrier Certificate. The FAA’s 

determination was based on Twin Air Calypso’s lack of qualifications to hold an Air Carrier certificate. More 

specifically, the FAA stated that the company had engaged in 5 or more scheduled flights between a given market in 

2011 without the requisite 14 CFR Part 135 authority and without meeting the requirements for manuals or pilot 

training required to operate flights in commuter service. The FAA also noted that Twin Air Calypso continued to 

openly advertise and provide its schedule of 5 or more scheduled flights per week to the general public when it 

neither had the authority to conduct commuter flights, nor had in place the safety measures required of a Part 135 

commuter operator. 

4 On November 7, 2012, the Department cancelled Twin Air Calypso’s air taxi registration.

5 See Order 2005-3-38.
3

As a result of its investigation, on February 24, 2012, the Department took enforcement action 

against Twin Air Calypso for conducting unauthorized scheduled flights as a commuter air 

carrier in violation of 49 U.S.C. §§ 41101, 41712, and 41738, and 14 CFR Part 298.

6 The

resulting consent order assessed Twin Air Calypso a civil penalty of $70,000, a portion of which 

was payable in seven separate monthly installments, with the remaining due and payable 

immediately if the company violated the order’s cease and desist or payment provisions. 

Because Twin Air Calypso failed to make both its first $5,000 payment due on March 26,

2012, and the second $5,000 payment due on April 23, 2012, in direct violation of the

consent order, the Department, on May 15, 2012, referred Twin Air Calypso to the proper

authorities for full payment collection ($70,000) and requested that this matter be expedited

because of the seriousness of the violations cited in the order, the company's recidivism, and 

its continued flaunting of federal statutes and Department regulations.

TENTATIVE DECISION 

After careful review of the record and based on the totality of the circumstances, it is the 

Department’s conclusion based on the facts stated above, that Twin Air Calypso’s application for 

authority to engage in scheduled passenger operations as a commuter air carrier under 49 U.S.C. 

§ 41738 should be dismissed. Twin Air Calypso has failed to establish that it possesses the 

managerial compentence to oversee its proposed operations, has the proper regard for the laws 

and regulations governing its services to ensure that acceptable consumer relations practices will 

be followed, and that it has adequate financial resources.

Regarding an air carrier’s management and compliance disposition, the Department has long 

held that violations that have occurred under an executive’s leadership can support a finding that 

he or she lacks an adequate compliance disposition.7 Moreover, “a carrier’s key personnel are 

responsible for conducting its operations in a way so as to ensure that reasonably expected 

compliance problems do not occur.”8

In this case, as Twin Air Calypso’s president, Mr. Clayton Gamber is ultimately responsible for 

ensuring the air carrier has the managerial competency to conduct its operations and the proper 

regard for the laws and regulations governing its services. Under Mr. Gamber’s direction, the air 

carrier has shown an apparent disregard for passenger safety, federal statutes, and government 

regulations. For instance, Twin Air Calypso continued to advertise and engage in scheduled 

operations with neither the appropriate economic authority from the Department nor operating 

authority from the FAA, despite repeated requests and orders issued by both agencies for the 

company to cease and desist its unlawful operations. In fact, the FAA, in its emergency 

revocation order, stated that Twin Air Calypso’s “failure to comply with its operations 

specifications on multiple flights, which were advertised to the public, raises serious concern 

with regard to Twin Air Calypso’s judgement and attitude towards regulatory compliance.”

 

6 See Order 2012-2-20.

7 ATX, Inc., Fitness Investigation, Docket 48780, Opinion and Order on Review, issued April 5, 1994, at 7. 

8 Id., citing Yute Air Alaska, Order 89-11-48. 
4

Concerning Twin Air Calypso’s financial fitness, the air carrier’s application indicated that as of 

September 30, 2011 it had negative working capital of approximately $31,744, while in the 9 

months ended September 30, 2011, it had earned net income of $49,075 on approximately 

$1.21 million in operating revenues. Its parent company, AvStar Aviation’s balance sheet dated 

June 30, 2011, also showed a negative working capital balance of $863,102 and its consolidated 

statement of operations for the 6 months ended June 30, 2011 indicated net income of $939.00. 

Additionally, Twin Air Calypso’s delinquency in paying the $70,000 civil penalty assessed 

against it leads us to further conclude the presence of serious financial problems.

Conclusion

Under these circumstances, we find that Twin Air’s application is materially deficient. It no

longer holds any type of authority from the FAA or the Department to operate as an air carrier. 

Therefore, we dismiss Twin Air Calypo’s application for authority to engage in scheduled 

passenger operations as a commuter air carrier.

ACCORDINGLY, Acting under authority assigned by the Department in its Regulations, 14 

CFR 385.12:

1. We dismiss the application submitted in Docket DOT-OST-2011-0143 by Twin Air Calypso 

Limited, Inc. for commuter authority. 

2. We will serve a copy of this order on the persons listed in Attachment A.

Persons entitled to petition the Department for review of this order under the Department’s 

Regulations, 14 CFR 385.30, may file their petitions within 10 days of the service date of this 

order. 

This order shall become effective and become the final action of the Department of 

Transportation upon expiration of the above period unless within such period a petition for 

review is filed or the Department gives notice that it will review this order on its own motion. 

By:

TODD M. HOMAN

Director 

Office of Aviation Analysis 

An electronic version of this document is available on the World Wide Web at:

http://www.regulations.gov
Attachment A

SERVICE LIST FOR

TWIN AIR CALYPSO LIMITED, 

INC.

MR. CLAYTON GAMBER

PRESIDENT / DIRECTOR OF 

MAINTENANCE

TWIN AIR CALYPSO LIMITED, INC.

700 SW 34TH STREET, SUITE 100

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33315

OFFICE OF AIRLINE INFORMATION

DOT/RSPA/BTS E-36

1200 NEW JERSEY AVE SE

WASHINGTON DC 20590

MR. RYAN LANDERS

ATTORNEY

FAA SOUTHERN REGION

POST OFFICE BOX 20636

ATLANTA, GA 30320

 

 

MR. SERGIO LOPEZ

SOUTH FLORIDA FLIGHT 

STANDARDS DISTRICT OFFICE 19

2895 SW 145th AVENUE

MIRAMAR, FL 33027

 

CERTIFICATION SECTION 

MANAGER

FAA AFS-900

45005 AVIATION DRIVE SUITE 131

DULLES VA 20166

MR. KENT GEORGE

AIRPORT DIRECTOR

FORT LAUDERDALE-HOLLYWOOD 

INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

100 AVIATION BOULEVARD

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33315

MR PETER LYNCH AGC-300

FAA ASST CHIEF COUNSEL

FOR ENFORCEMENT

800 INDEPENDENCE AVE SW 

WASHINGTON DC 20591