Quest Aircraft fending off lawsuits

SANDPOINT — Quest Aircraft Co. is fighting a lawsuit filed by a Canadian charter service which claims the company failed to build a plane to its specifications.

Quest denies the allegations made by Superior Airways and counterclaims that the charter company balked on its payment obligations and made demands not covered by the sales contract.

Superior filed suit in November and Quest filed its response the following month, according to 1st District Court records. Both parties are claiming breach of contract.

Superior Airways, based in Red Lake, Ontario, entered into an sales agreement with Quest in 2006 to purchase a Kodiak single-engine turboprop airplane capable of carrying nine people, a pilot and luggage, Superior’s civil complaint said.

Superior paid Quest a $50,000 deposit made a $500,000 payment in 2010 at Quest’s request, but learned that the plane could only accommodate seven passengers, the suit said. Superior further alleges that the Kodiak was not fitted with the radar altimeter, a required piece of equipment for charter aircraft in Canada.

Superior further argued in the complaint that the Kodiak cannot be certified for charter operations in Canada because pilots are required to train on a Level V flight simulator, something which Quest does not possess.

In its answer to the lawsuit, Quest contends the deposit is non-refundable and that Superior did not fulfill its payment obligations. Quest concedes it does not have a flight simulator, but said Canadian aviation officials certified the Kodiak in 2009.

Quest maintains Superior rejected delivery of the Kodiak in September. Quest said Superior was to be the first Canadian outfit to use the Kodiak, an aircraft designed for short takeoffs and landings, for off-airstrip operations.

Further proceedings in the case are pending.

Meanwhile, a Montana man has also filed suit against Quest for not delivering a Kodiak in a timely manner. Don Bernard of Glacial Energy LLC claims in his lawsuit that he agreed to purchase a Kodiak in 2007 for $1.3 million, but did not receive the plane.

Bernard’s suit seeks the return of his $50,000 deposit.

Quest’s answer to the Bernard suit, which was filed Dec. 14, has not been filed yet.

Quest placed the bulk of its 120-employee workforce on furloughs earlier this month due to the flat economy. The furloughs followed four rounds of layoffs at the company’s Sandpoint production facility.

Quest CEO Paul Schaller said earlier this month that the company produced 14 planes in 2010.