FAA: LI firm involved in crash does repairs

The Ronkonkoma-based company that owns the four-seater Cessna that crashed in Massachusetts bills itself as a Federal Aviation Administration-approved repair station that fixes up aircraft equipment as well as all types of planes.

FAA spokesman Jim Peters confirmed the Airborne Maintenance Inc.'s mission of airplane repair in the aftermath of a fatal crash Sunday that took the life of one person and injured three others.

William Schley of Miller Place, who was injured in the crash near Leverett, Mass., is listed by the New York State Department of State's Division of Corporations as the chief executive of the firm.

The state agency has had the company, located near an office complex at Long Island MacArthur Airport on Arrival Avenue, on record since 2002.

Records also identify Jay Schley of Stony Brook as the principal executive officer. Jay Schley was not on the plane.

"They do work on airplanes," said Jon Ross, director of operations for North American Air Charter, which rents space to Airborne Maintenance.

Aviation Week magazine said the firm provides aircraft maintenance and avionics installations and services while serving as an FAA repair station. It added that Airborne provides aftermarket services, and modifications/completions/ overhaul.

Ross said the company's employees used the Cessna for recreational purposes.

In a company profile listed in the Long Island Business Aviation Association, Airborne Maintenance boasts a "state-of-the art" 33,000-foot hangar that can house any corporate aircraft.

"Our management and technical teams understand all of your needs and demands, and we'll put our expertise to work for you," reads the company's profile on the LIBAA website.

Officials from the company could not be reached for comment. With Michael Amon

and Patrick Whittle