Serves them right....

[flyinggreasemonkey]

http://www.thespec.com/article/563250

Steve Buist
The Hamilton Spectator
(May 9, 2009)
She is one of more than a hundred students who came halfway around the world with a dream to fly.

From across China, she and the others have been coming to Dunnville to launch careers as commercial airline pilots.

Now, she's $50,000 poorer and only marginally closer to being an airline pilot than she was 13 months ago when she arrived here.

Jane (not her real name) was one of the students at Maylan Flight Academy, a flying school started with little fanfare in late 2007 at Dunnville Airport to train Chinese nationals to become commercial pilots.

Last month, Maylan shut down its Dunnville site abruptly and transferred the remaining Chinese students to a second Maylan location in London, Ont.

"I was looking forward to a good future here," Jane said in an interview before she transferred to London.

"Now I only want to have my money back and go back to China because I have no confidence at all here."

Maylan's closure raises a number of significant questions about the operation of the Dunnville flight school, the training received by the students and their living conditions in Canada.

A Spectator investigation has uncovered serious allegations about Maylan's operation in Dunnville.

Among them:

* Maylan was the subject of interest last year from CSIS, Canada's spy agency, and the RCMP.

* The office of the federal immigration minister had warned visa problems with students could close down the flying school.

* Maylan students claim they were receiving only a fraction of the flying hours they needed to complete their training.

* Some Maylan students claim their accommodations were substandard, including one case of nine students living in one three-bedroom townhouse.

* One Maylan student who contacted the Chinese consulate in Toronto with concerns about the school was recalled to China shortly after.

"I got a sense over the months that they really didn't know how to run this school," said Ron Speer, a board member and former manager of the Dunnville Chamber of Commerce.

"It was inefficiently operated and the students were pushed and pulled around by this organization," added Speer, who developed close relationships with some of the Chinese students.

Phil Moffitt, Maylan's CEO, did not respond to numerous requests for an interview.

At its height last summer, Maylan was training nearly 150 Chinese students at the Dunnville Airport, and there were reportedly as many as 300 Chinese students enrolled at the two Maylan locations.

Frank Collins, operations director for the Dunnville Airport, said he was visited twice last spring by an agent from the Niagara office of CSIS -- the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

"She was basically inquiring about Maylan, was there anything of suspicion, what was the personnel structure," said Collins.

"Some issues were about some of the students, whether they were really here," Collins added. "One of the questions she posed was are all the students accounted for, and I said I really don't know."

A spokesperson for CSIS declined to provide any details.

"We never confirm or deny our activities," said Manon Berube. "That's just our policy."

Collins said he was also contacted last October by the RCMP and Haldimand-Norfolk MP Diane Finley's office. Finley was the federal minister of citizenship and immigration from January 2007 until Oct. 29, 2008.

According to Collins, he was contacted by Don Edwards from Finley's office and told that there was a problem with the study visas for the Chinese students, and if the problem wasn't corrected by the following day, the flight school would be shut down.

Collins said he was told by Edwards that the students' visas had been improperly registered out of Gander, NL, where Gander Flight Training operates. The Gander school has an affiliation with Maylan, according to several Chinese students.

Collins said he then contacted Moffitt, Maylan's CEO, and told him the visas needed to be corrected immediately "and if you don't do it, you're going to get the plug pulled," Collins said. "So they did it the very next day."

Edwards said that privacy legislation prevented him from discussing any details of his conversation with Collins.

Finley did not respond to requests for an interview.

According to the contract they signed with Maylan, the students say they were promised they'd accumulate the 250 hours of flying time necessary to become commercial pilots certified on multi-engine airplanes, in a maximum of 14 months.

But some of the students, as well as other people from Dunnville involved with the school, said they are not aware of a single Chinese student who has yet completed the training with Maylan.

Jane, for instance, said she has been at Maylan for just over a year but only accumulated about one-quarter of the 250 flying hours she needs to finish the multi-engine training. She hasn't even obtained the first of the three flying levels she requires.

"According to the contract, it says clearly that after 14 months you can finish the training," she said. "But it's almost 14 months and I'm not even at half."

She also said she didn't have any flying time or classroom instruction from early December until she left Dunnville in April.

During that time, she said, there was nothing to occupy her days. "Just hang around with the local people," she added.

The students said they paid $50,000 each in advance for training, including the cost of accommodations and living expenses.

Jane said she raised the money from her own savings and by borrowing the rest from her parents and other relatives.

Take the case of another student we'll call John, also not his real name. He's also one of the Chinese pilots who has been transferred from Dunnville to London, and like Jane, he fears repercussions for speaking out about Maylan.

John arrived in Dunnville with the first group of Chinese students in December 2007.

Training commercial pilots in China is difficult, John said, because the air space is controlled by the military. "The only way is to find a company and they hire you and then they will send you out of China to another country, like Canada or the U.S.A. that will train you," he said.

Maylan has agreements to train pilots for several Chinese airlines, including Shanghai Airlines, Okay Airlines and Shenzhen Airlines. Maylan also has a recruiting agent based in Beijing.

John raised the $50,000 to attend Maylan from his savings, his parents, a bank loan -- even selling his van.

"In December (2007), we didn't see any instructors and no airplanes in Dunnville," said John. "Even the airport was like an empty hangar, cold, with nothing, no classrooms, no chairs, no tables, no nothing."

John didn't take his first flight until the end of March 2008. "Just stay home and play on the computer," he added.

The students' living accommodations were also an unwelcome surprise.

"In China, (Maylan) showed us pictures, so beautiful," said John. "Really big huge living room, television, everything, beautiful kitchen. Now we move here with nothing."

John's first home in Dunnville was a small, two-bedroom apartment over a business.

There were six students living together in the apartment -- four in one bedroom on two sets of bunk beds, and two in the other on bunk beds. John says the school tried to add another bed in one of the rooms but relented because it prevented the door from closing.

The only furniture in the living room was a collapsible banquet-style table and six folding chairs.

Collins, airport operations director, said he was aware of one case of nine students living in one three-bedroom townhouse in Dunnville.

One of the nine students told Collins that each of them was being charged $500 a month in rent, for a total of $4,500 a month. Collins estimated the townhouse unit rented for less than $1,000 a month, not including utilities.

Dunnville Airport is in a rural area about seven kilometres south of the town's centre.

A school bus was scheduled to take the students back and forth from downtown to the airport three times a day -- at 6:15 a.m., 12:40 p.m. and 5:20 p.m.

John said if he had a class or flying lesson scheduled for noon, he'd either have to catch the 6:15 a.m. bus and wait around for several hours, or walk to the airport.

"Lots of local people would see us walking down the road and give us a ride," said John. Some townspeople even donated bicycles to the students.

Marianne Allemang of Dunnville was one of the English instructors employed by Maylan Flight Academy. She said it was easy to see that her students were frustrated.

"The students I was most involved with were never flying on a consistent basis," said Allemang.

Allemang also said there appeared to be a constant turnover of staff on Maylan's flight operations' side.

"It seemed as though right from the beginning there were too many students, not enough airplanes, and flight instructors that kept coming and going."

Collins said that Maylan had about six airplanes based in Dunnville, and none of them were twin-engine planes. The Chinese students would need to obtain flying time on multi-engine planes to complete their training.

"They only put single-engines in Dunnville," said Collins.

"They were giving us a lot of talk that they were bringing twins into Dunnville but that never did happen," he added.

According to both Jane and John, Maylan began looking for opportunities to ground some of the students from flying.

Okay Airlines was shut down briefly for a month in early 2008 because of what has been described as a shareholder dispute.

Students representing Okay Airlines believe that was the reason they were grounded from flying, even though their fees had already been paid.

A lack of English proficiency was another reason given, said Jane and John. English tests became more and more frequent, and those who didn't pass couldn't fly.

John said that the Chinese students already passed an English test given in China before they were even accepted into Maylan's program.

"Now we come to Canada and they say 'Your English is so bad,'" he said. "They find any excuse to stop us."

One student did raise concerns about Maylan. His name is Cole and he is now back in China.

Cole complained about Maylan to the Chinese consulate in Toronto, according to half a dozen people interviewed by The Spectator, prompting a visit to Dunnville by officials from the consulate. Shortly after, Cole was recalled to China.

A spokesperson for the Chinese consulate declined to discuss any specifics related to Maylan or Cole's complaint. It's not clear why Cole returned to China.

Speer, the Chamber of Commerce board member, developed a close friendship with Cole.

He believes Cole's company, Shenzhen Airlines, may have been pressured into recalling the student.

"He was punished for daring to challenge and most unjustly punished," said Speer.

Speer said Cole took on the unofficial role of lead student for the others.

"He did not stop in his statements to ... officials of the Maylan Flight Academy that they weren't getting what they were paying for," said Speer.

sbuist@thespec.com

905-526-3226

[North Shore]

Serves them right.

Right for what? Dreaming about flying for a living? Busting their as$es to raise $50 large? Coming to Canada? Believing the promises of some quick-talking scammer?

[crazy_aviator]

makes me sad to call myself a "canadian" EH !! Te rest of the world is breezing past us as we and america beat our chests and try to tell everyone how great we are !! !!! WAKE UP CANADA !!!

[Widow]

Serves them right.

Right for what?

Funny, I didn't think flyinggreasemonkey was referring to the students.

[mcrit]

Phil Moffitt, Maylan's CEO, did not respond to numerous requests for an interview.

Is that the former CFI of the London Flying Club?

As for the school, I don't really see how the students deserved to be screwed around. It wasn't like they were going to stay here and take our jobs.
It is ironic (for lack of a better word) that the press is upset over non-Canadian students getting screwed. I don't recall seeing anything about the former ATI going down the tubes and taking a lot of people's money, nor to I recall much press about that chic in Barrie that did the same thing. Perhaps the Maylan students can get their money back from that mandatory trade school insurance program that every flight school now has to pay into.

[Donald]

You can add CASA out of YHZ to that list. Although, just enough stink was raised that the provincial gov't struck a deal through NSCC to finish the students.

[b1ngnx33]

Caveat Emptor

Buyer Beware

Easy to memorize, but it takes a lifetime to understand.

In this case a school, claiming training for a position as a commercial pilot.

Maybe the "censored" chinese internet didn't expose them as who they are.

It's not easy to find out if a school is really as good as it claims to be.

You always have to wonder, if they show you what they want you to see, what are they not showing you.

Hidden assumptions, vague lines in a contract, etc, etc.

A sucker is born every minute -- I don't know who said this.

[lilfssister]

A sucker is born every minute -- I don't know who said this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There%27s_ ... ery_minute

[Invertago]

"In December (2007), we didn't see any instructors and no airplanes in Dunnville," said John. "Even the airport was like an empty hangar, cold, with nothing, no classrooms, no chairs, no tables, no nothing."

I arrived there Dec 2007 after ferrying an aircraft across the country for them. Took a look at the operation being setup and made them buy me a return ticket home. Don't need to wash my hands of that place because I ran from there before getting dirty.

'Dreams of a better life for sale in Canada, $50 000' way to drag our flag through the mud with this scam Maylan... oh wait did I say 'our' flag opps sorry, Maylan was started by a chinese canadian and screwed chinese nationals, he just did it under the Canadian Flag.

[flyinggreasemonkey]

Sorry...to clarify, Maylan deserves this kind of press. The students are a great bunch or people.

Hey Invertago...I remember hearing you wouldn't be back and thinking to myself "there goes a smart man..." Hope you're doing well.

I'm still surprised as hell I stayed with Maylan for 7 months...guess thats what happens when you need money...

Maylan had alot of really good and really bad people come thru the HR revolving door.

The problem they had with their training was that they were trying to create way too specific of a training plan for each student. They were working on such a tight net of procedures that they lost sight of their primary objective, which was getting the students trained safely. Ground school and PGI's are absolutely necessary and can be a great benefit if taught well, but are useless if the students are not allowed to get in the air and apply the concepts.

I was one of the few who were interviewed by CSIS, too. They were interested in hearing of the numerous, large packages arriving from China with no evidence of customs scrutinization, and the fact that there were hundreds of chinese passports locked up in a filing cabinet when they should have been left with the students.

[Tango01]

I said it before and I'll keep saying it now: NEVER EVER PAY UP FRONT ANY AMOUNT OF MONEY TO ANY FLIGHT SCHOOL.

Read the above many times until you get it!

T01

[square]

I don't know much about this particular school so I'll reserve judgment, but I would love to see these 60k and 100k upfront scam operators lined up and shot.

[pika]

Welcome to Canada kids. Must be about time for another Canadian government sponsored study to declare Canada the best country in the world.

http://www.notcanada.com/

[vrrotate]

It is very unfortunate what has happened to all of these students. I still keep in touch with a few of them via email and hear from them from time to time. Out of all the students I met only one has since finished. Please understand that every last one of these guys/gals were right out lied to by the guy who started Maylan. And unfortunately you have to believe everything you are told in China.

TC should never have granted an oc to this guy... oh wait they didn't, he just bought out Empire. DJ has a great knack for be able to throw money at problems. His world has slowly been crumbling from the day he started. Just a matter of time before everything falls apart and the students are screwed big time.

[Invertago]

Lies was their middle name. I wonder if he'll go down with his ship, or if he has a fancy life raft waiting for him... pretty sure it is the second option... I should just post his home address for all those who got screwed by him so they can go knocking and ask for a refund

[North Shore]

So is Maylan at Dunnville now defunct? Or is it still going along ripping off naive foreigners? Funny how Bernie Madoff gets 150 years for ruining people's dreams, yet here in Canada, when you do the same thing, nothing seems to happen.

[Cat Driver]

Look at the positive side of this, all you need is hire someone to get the paper work done to TC's approval and presto you have a government approved license to run a full scale scam with no fear of accountability.

From that angle Canada is a great place for those who are crooks.

[LH]

Cat Driver ---------- I do believe Sir, that this is the very first time I've ever heard of such a thing taking place in Canada or the US. You and I are from the same generation, so I'm wondering if it's the first time that you've observed the same thing as I. You will disregard the dripping sarcasm at the same time I hope.



Somebody posted here what Bernie Madoff was sentenced to in the US for doing something vaguely similar. Whoever made that comparison is one naive Canadian. It's already been discussed and agreed upon by legal expersts thatthe most Madoff would have received in Canada for doing EXACTLY what he did in the US was 14 years MAX. He'd have served approximately 7 years and been awarded parole. So please folks, don't compare our prison sentences for practically any crfme to what takes places in the USA.........because we're a joke in comparison.

[North Shore]

LH, please re-read my post (it's only 2 up from yours) again for any signs of naivety..actually, I'll save you the trouble, and quote:

yet here in Canada, when you do the same thing, nothing seems to happen.

That's pretty much an indictment of our punishments for crimes, no?

[LH]

North Shore ------- I did read your post but took your meaning as some sort of surprise that this had taken place in dear old Canada. In otherwards, I took a different meaning from what you intended. My apologies for the misinterpretation.

[Carrier]

Quote: "Phil Moffitt, Maylan's CEO, did not respond to numerous requests for an interview."
Quote: "Is that the former CFI of the London Flying Club?"

There was someone of that name at Aviation International in Guelph some years back. He then surfaced at National Flyers in Kitchener/Waterloo. Then he moved to the Waterloo Wellington Flight Centre in Kitchener/Waterloo. He seems to move around a lot! Has he been anywhere else?

[Cat Driver]

Sounds like he is prime talent for TC's flight training department.