“The money was wasted, there were also shell companies that were used to turn the funds.
The president of Airways College was not alone in this rotten organization, there were people around him.
I would like them to be prosecuted as well.
»Father of an Airways College student, Yves does not mince words about his CEO.
Airways College is this airline pilot training school costing 99,000 euros for the school year and based at the Paris-Villaroche aerodrome, near Melun (Seine-et-Marne).
Its CEO, Jérôme Binachon, was indicted at the end of October by the prosecutor's office in Agen (Lot-et-Garonne) for bankruptcy, abuse of corporate assets and fraud as part of an investigation carried out by the gendarmes of the section of research in Bordeaux (Gironde).
An episode in addition to the judicial liquidation of Airways College on April 29, 2021 by the commercial court of Agen following a liability of ... 17 million euros.
A real crash for this company created in 1987 in Agen, also present in Nîmes (Gard), Cholet (Maine-et-Loire) and therefore Paris-Villaroche, which Jérôme Binachon chaired since 2017. The latter was placed under judicial control while as the investigation continues.
Contacted, the one who remains presumed innocent did not respond to our requests.
Read also Paris-Villaroche: to save their training at 99,000 euros, student airline pilots have a plan
Before the judicial liquidation, the Paris-Villaroche site, which had 31 registrants, had collected 89% of the registration fees, or 2.7 million euros.
Faced with the abyssal liabilities of the company, the parents of students say they are "hardly surprised" by the indictment of the former CEO of Airways College who earned 29,718, 26 euros gross per month, according to a document that we consulted.
“I got him online, he was totally offline and compared himself to Elon Musk,” recalls one student mother.
"It was a real swindle in an organized gang because he had people around him", comments Jean-Louis, father of a student.
99,000 euros in tuition fees
Parents were invited to file a complaint by the group created by the students.
“It's going to be very long.
We have three years to do it.
Everyone has declared their claim, can become a civil party and claim damages, ”assures a member.
The school was taken over on July 2 by Paris Flight Training Aero (PFT), directed by Arnaud Chaibi and Pascal Boisson, for € 5.7 million.
The start of the PFT Aero version is planned at three sites with 177 students out of 248 (including 217 face-to-face).
A chance for these students who had already spent an average of 99,000 euros in tuition fees and risked losing everything in the absence of a buyer.
Paris-Villaroche, November 4, 2021. PFT Aéro has taken over two-thirds of the flight line pilots of Airways College.
The resumption of classes is scheduled for December 6.
The takeover of Airways College caused surprises for FPT Aéro. "It is more complicated to take over an existing company than to create one", notes its director, Pascal Boisson, former captain. With Arnaud Chaibi, the president of PFT Aéro, he had to bring the Agen and Paris-Villaroche sites up to safety standards. The latter obtained the status of approved training issued by the General Directorate of Civil Aviation. On the educational side, students from the three bases will be trained in the airline pilot license (APTL) and other planes will be rented or purchased.
“The goal of the recovery is to leave no one behind. The pupils were asked for an additional effort of 10,000 euros, except for about fifteen of them who are scholarship holders. These 10,000 euros will be placed in an escrow account. To reassure parents and protect students, the money will be collected as their training progresses, ”insists Pascal Boisson.
In Paris-Villaroche, classes will resume from December 6 for fifteen to twenty students.
Marie, a student from Roissy-en-Brie, says she has filed a complaint on her behalf against the former CEO of Airways College.
Yves has not yet done so, for lack of resources.
“I still have to pay nearly 50% of the tuition fees to the buyer, or 47,000 euros, as well as the 10,000 euros paid into the common fund.
Valluvan, 19, from Torcy, wants to borrow this amount from a bank.
“I would rather add 10,000 euros than lose the 99,000 euros paid by my family and find myself without a diploma!
"
