Will Hickory Airport Operators be forced to liquidate -- and why is no one talking about this?!?!?

In information sent to me this evening, we see that the operators of the Hickory Airport are to be forced into either Chapter 7 Bankruptcy or there will be a court appointed trustee who will administer River Hawk's Chapter 11 filing. Under United States Code Law, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy provides for "liquidation" of assets, ( i.e., the sale of a debtor's nonexempt property and the distribution of the proceeds to creditors.). Chapter 11 Bankruptcy provides for reorganization, usually involving a corporation or partnership (a business entity). A chapter 11 debtor usually proposes a plan of reorganization to keep its business alive and pay creditors over time.

According to the document provided, River Hawk filed the petition four months ago on May 19, 2011. On May 22nd, an order was given by the court to River Hawk that its operators must file monthly status reports and pay quarterly fees. According to the documents below, as of the motion within these documents on September 14, 2011, River Hawk owes status reports for May, June and July of this year and owes quarterly fees for the second quarter of 2011. This means that River Hawk has done nothing to meet its obligations under the rules of voluntary bankruptcy.

The Bankruptcy court attorneys state that "Cause exists to dismiss or convert the Debtor's case... whichever is in the best interests of creditors and the estate, for cause."


The Hound: It is high time that this show be brought to an end. This has been the Modus Operandi of this company and it is a sorry way for our airport to be managed. The City should have ended this charade long ago, but apparently they have been afraid to take any action. They are culpable in this mess, because they were not made privy to the buy out/merger of Profile Aviation to this entity known as River Hawk. Yet, they went along to get along, even though the lawyer who represented the city at the time on Aviation issues told the city that they should not carry forward with the Fixed Based Operator contract that was agreed to with Profile Aviation and transferred to River Hawk without the City of Hickory's knowledge or consent. The contract was breached, so they should have reopened an open process of negotiations to obtain a contract that would be in the city's best interests.

The other issue is that River Hawk basically doesn't own much of anything at the Hickory Airport. The Flight Operations Center and hangars are owned by the city. All River Hawk is doing is leasing these facilities. You can and should read the past documents that have been written on this subject matter (linked below). 

At a point in time two years ago, some aviation interests here in the area thought that River Hawk was operating in good faith, but over the subsequent time period they have expressed to me a much different conclusion. Has River Hawk taken out loans by using city property as collateral? How far behind is River Hawk in its payments to the city? What impact (negative) has the mismanagement of this situation had upon the viability of the airport? Will the City finally implement the recommendations of the 2006 Hickory Airport Task Force?

What I want you to understand is that this is what happens when government officials operate constantly under a cloak of darkness without communicating with the public. You only trust government officials when they prove themselves to be honest and forthright, not when they bungle issues of public interest!!! Where is the local media on this issue? Have you read anything about the happenings at the Airport in the Hickory Daily Record or heard anything on WHKY? What is going on around here? We are talking about millions of dollars folks. The next time city officials tell you that we don't have any money, you need to point to boondoggles such as this!!!

Do people even know? Hickory Airport Operators (River Hawk Aviation) in Bankruptcy - June 18, 2011 

Mind Blowing - The City's Mismanagement of the Hickory Regional Airport. - September 30, 2011