Summary

On July 12, James Randall Jennings, of Goodlettsville, Tennessee, was convicted by a Federal jury in U. S. District Court in Nashville, Tennessee, after a three-day trial on charges related to the falsification of the logbook of a two-seat helicopter he was trying to sell. Jennings, owner of Jennings Aircraft Sales, was convicted of two counts of interstate wire fraud for emailing and faxing false information to potential buyers regarding the amount of hours flown on the helicopter. Witnesses at trial testified that FAA requires this model of helicopter to undergo a major overhaul after 2,200 hours of flight time, at a cost of between $80,000 and $90,000. Unless overhauled, the helicopter is not considered airworthy or safe to fly. Jennings advertised the helicopter for sale representing that it had been flown about 1600 hours. He supported this false representation by showing potential purchasers altered flight logs and an on-board flight meter which reflected these lower flight hours. The fraud was discovered when a Texas man purchased the helicopter from Jennings and took it to an aircraft maintenance business that had previously maintained the helicopter. No sentencing date has been set. This case was investigated with the FAA and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Note: Indictments, informations, and criminal complaints are only accusations by the government, all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.