2015

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 3rd th day of June, 20 15

Charter Air Transport, Inc. Docket OST 20 1 5

- 0002

Violations of 49 U.S.C. § 41 7 0 8 and Served June 3, 201 5

14 CFR Part 298

CONSENT ORDER

This consent order concerns reporting delinquencies by Charter Air Transport, Inc. ( CAT ) that constitute violations of 49 U.S.C. § 417 0 8 and the accounting and reporting requirements specified in 14 CFR Part 298 . This order directs CAT to cease and desist from future violations, and assesses the carrier a compromise civil penalty of $ 3 0,000

.

Applicable Law

Section 417 0 8 of the United States Cod e
, inter alia

, authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to require air carriers to submit reports to the Depar tment. Pursuant to

section 4170 8, 14 CFR Part 298 designate s various categories of statistical data to be collected and prescribes the manner in which these data are to be submitted to the Department. The Department uses carriers’ Part 298 reports to analyze the effects of air transportation industry policy initiatives, to allocate airport developm ent funds, to forecast traffic, and to develop airport and airway traffic policy. A carrier’s failure to file its reports prevents the Department from making fully informed decisions. Failure to file reports when they are due constitutes a vi olation of 4 9 U.S.C. § 4170 8 and 14 CFR Part

298

.

Facts

CAT is a commuter air carrier and is therefore subject to the reporting requirements of 49

U .S.C. § 4170 8 and 14 CFR Part 298. CAT failed to file BTS Form 298

- C “Report of

Financial Data” and Schedule T

- 100 “U.S. Air Carrier Traffic and Capacity Data by

Nonst o p Segment and On

- Flight Market” in a timely manner

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In July 2014, the Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings (Enforcement Office)

contacted the carrier regarding its non

- compliance with the Depa rtment ’s reporting requirements. CAT promptly filed all required reports and is in compliance with the Department ’ s reporting requirements.

Mitigation

In mitigation, CAT states that any violation of the Department’s reporting requirements

was inadvertent. CAT states that a t the precise time the alleged reporting violations began, CAT was relocating its corporate offices from Ohio to Florida. CAT states that

the CAT employee responsible for filing the quarterly and monthly reports did not relocate with the company and failed to coordinate the continued submission of the reports with the employee’s successor or anyone else.

CAT states that its Director of Finance h as been assigned primary responsibility for preparing and submitting Department

- required monthly and quarterly reports. CAT

states that t h r ough a concerted effort , the Director of Finance was able to file all past

- due reports within two days of contact fr om the Enforcement Office

. CAT states that t he Director of Finance is training multiple subordinates o n this task to assure that the reports
are not overlooked in the future.

Decision

The Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings (Enforcement Office) has carefully considered the information provided by CAT

, but continues to believe that enforcement

action is warranted. The Enforcement Office and CAT have reached a settlement of this matter in order to avoid litigation. Without admitting the v iolations described above,

CAT consents to the issuance of this order to cease and desist from future violations of 49 U.S.C. § 4170 8 and 14 CFR § 298 .60

.

The compromise assessment is appropriate considering the extent of the violations

described herein a nd serves the public interest. It provides a strong incentive for CAT

and other air carriers to submit data to the Department in a timely and complete manner, as required

.

This order is issued under the authority contained in 14 CFR Part 1

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ACCORDINGLY,

1. Based on the above discussion, we approve this settlement and the provisions of this order as being in the public interest;

2. We find that Charter Air Transport, Inc. violated 49 U.S.C. § 417 0 8 and 14 CFR § 298 .60 by failing to file required reports in a timely manner

, as described above ; and– 3

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3. We order Charter Air Transport, Inc. and all other entities owned or controlled by or under common ownership with Charter Air Transport, Inc. and their successors and assigns to cease and desist from further violations of 49 U.S.C. § 417 0 8 and 14 CFR § 298 .60

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. We assess Charter Air Transport, Inc. a compromise civil penalty of $ 3 0,000 in lieu of civil penalties that might otherwise be assessed for th e violations found in ordering paragraph 2, above

. Of this total penalty amount, $ 3 ,000 shall be due and payable within 30 days from the date of issuance of this order ; $3 ,000 shall be due and payable within 60 days from the date o f issuance of this order; $3 ,000 shall be due and payable within 90 days from the date of issuance of this order ; $3,000 shall be due and payable within 120 days from the date of issuance of this order; and $3,000 shall be due and payable within 150 days from the date of issuance of

this order . The remaining portion of the civil penalty amount, $ 1 5 ,000

, shall become due and payable immediately if, within one year of the date of issuance of this order, Charter Air Transport, Inc. , violates this order’s cease and desist provisions or fails to comply with the order’s payment provisions, in which case Charter Air Transport, Inc., may be subject to additional enforcement action for

violation of this order ; and

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. We or der Charter Air Transport, Inc. to pay the penalty through Pay.gov to the account of the U.S. Treasury in accordance with the instructions contained in the Attachment to this order. Failure to pay the penalty as ordered s h all subject Charter Air Transport, Inc. to the assessment of interest, penalty, and collection charge s under the Debt Collection Act, and to possible additional enforcement action for failing to comply with this order.

This order will become a final order of the Department 10 days after its service date unless a timely petition for review is filed or the Department takes review on its own

motion.

BY:

Blane Workie

Assistant General Counsel for Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings

An electronic version of this document i s available at www.regulations.gov– 4

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________________________________ _____________________________
___ Charter Air Transport, Inc. Blane Workie

Assistant General Counsel for

Aviation Enforcement and P roceedings

________________________________ Charter Air Transport, Inc. Employer ID Number (EIN)