North European Aviation Resources

North European Aviation Resources
Established	November 23, 2001
Type	Private
Accountable Manager	Svein-Jonny Tømmervåg
Location	Ålesund, Norway
Campus	Airport, affiliated building outside perimiter fence leased from Lufttransport
Website	www.nearas.no

North European Aviation Resources AS (NEAR) is a Norwegian registered company and was a private JAR-FCL authorized Flight Training Organization (FTO) located at Ålesund Airport, Vigra, in Norway. It provided JAA and FAA training to European students through its ab-initio ATP(A) Integrated Course in cooperation with North American Institute of Aviation. The course was a derivative of its predecessor's Scandinavian Airlines training program. NEAR was also an affiliate partner of Widerøe's Flyveselskap.^[1]

History

NEAR traces its roots back to Statens trafikkflygerskole (STFS) which was established in 1988 at Sandefjord Airport, Torp.^[2] According to its publication New Horizons, it has trained pilots since 1989,^[3] conforming to the common European flight crew licensing requirements as of 2001.^[4] Following the decision by the Parliament of Norway on 6. June 1991^[5] to dissolve the government flight school, the expertise of STFS later reappeared as Trenings- og kompetansesenteret (TS), a center for training and competency, within the Norwegian Air Traffic and Airport Management (NATAM),^[6] now Avinor. Its portfolio included flight training, systems development and consulting.

A subsidiary of Avinor, named Nordic Aviation Resources AS, merged with the competency center in 1997^[7] and developed from being a consulting firm to a fully developed flight training institute and the operator of Avinor's calibration aircraft. NAR cooperated with North American Institute of Aviation (NAIA) providing pilot candidates from Scandinavian Airlines with an ab-initio training program.

The Parliament opted to sell 80% of its shares in NAR 1. April 2002, as well as the flight school operation.^[8] By 31. December 2002 NAR's equity was lost. Avinor was privatized on 1. January 2003, and in the same month they signed a deal to buy TS backfrom NAR. Nordian AS, another subsidiary of Avinor, continued the TS operations until these merged and were sold off by the mother company. Nordian is today a fully privatized company specializing in the development of training systems for the theoretical part of the European Airline Transport Pilot License, in cooperation with London Metropolitan University and KLM Flight Academy. 7. April 2003 the Nordic Aviation Resources general meeting decided to dissolve the organization.

South Carolina businessman Benjamin J. Creel bought North American Institute of Aviation in 2001 and subsequently founded North European Aviation Resources (NEAR) on 23. November the same year under a 90% ownership. The remaining 10% was owned by Norwegian Ole Pedersen, who was the organization's Accountable Manager until its demise as an FTO in 2010. The JAR-FCL ATP(A) Integrated Course was established and received approval by the Civil Aviation Authority of Norway. The program included ab-initio training in the U.S., followed by experience building through flight instructor work, and ended with crediting training and completion in Norway through in-house ATPL theory instruction and an MCC course, as well as flight training through partner Rørosfly AS.

Following the cessation of training activities at North American Institute of Aviation on 5. September 2008^[9] the NEAR Board of Directors, lead by Accountable Manager Ole Pedersen established a new FTO under their own majority ownership named North European Institute of Aviation (NEIA), subsequently transferring all students to the new organization and contracting with Pelican Flight Training Center for the continued operation of their training program. A brief introduction of the ATP(A) Integrated Course ensued, but it was quickly dropped due to NEIA's financial problems.

NEIA declared bankruptcy in February 2010,^[10] stranding many students in the middle of their education; some of which had pre-paid the entire course (valued at over €100.000, primarily financed through bank loans) and had not yet initiated training. NEIA equity was negligible, and as a result there was no refund of student money. What was left of company assets were sold off, and the funds distributed to major creditors.

The shares of North European Aviation Resources were sold in 2010 to Svein-Jonny Tømmervåg, the former Chief Flight Instructor, who retains the position of Accountable Manager.^[11] Although the organization remains a legal entity, it no longer conducts flight training. It continues to provide former students with documentation of their education.

External links

• North European Aviation Resources
• North European Institute of Aviation
• North American Institute of Aviation
• Rørosfly

References

1. ^ Let your career take off - Become a professional pilot, NEAR/NAIA JAR-FCL integrated training marketing leaflet, obtained from NEAR in 2007, published ca. 2001
2. ^ "Historikk - Nordian AS". Nordian AS. http://www.nordian.net/aboutus2n.html. Retrieved 2011-06-03. 
3. ^ New Horizons, 3rd edition, March 1, 2007, front cover
4. ^ "finnstudie.no - North European Institute of Aviation AS". FinnStudie.no. http://www.finnstudie.no/merinfo2.asp?ID=1741. Retrieved 2011-06-04. 
5. ^ "Avvikling av Statens trafikkflygerskole". Stortinget. June 6, 1991. http://stortinget.no/nn/Saker-og-publikasjoner/Saker/Sak/?p=5714. Retrieved 2011-06-03. 
6. ^ "Nordic Aviation Resouces AS (Norway - Jane's Air Traffic Control". July 7, 2005. http://articles.janes.com/articles/Janes-Air-Traffic-Control/Nordic-Aviation-Resources-AS-Norway.html. Retrieved 2011-06-03. 
7. ^ "Historikk - Nordian AS". Nordian AS. http://www.nordian.net/aboutus2n.html. Retrieved 2011-06-03. 
8. ^ "Salget av Nordic Aviation Resources AS (NAR) med videre". Stortinget. http://www.stortinget.no/no/Saker-og-publikasjoner/Publikasjoner/Innstillinger/Stortinget/2003-2004/inns-200304-135/4/#a2. Retrieved 2011-06-03. 
9. ^ "S.C. flight school closes". AOPA Online. September 9, 2008. http://www.aopa.org/training/articles/2008/080909school.html. Retrieved 2009-02-26. 
10. ^ "North European Institute of Aviation fratatt lisensen". Boarding.no. February 5, 2010. http://www.boarding.no/art.asp?id=40324. Retrieved 2011-06-04. 
11. ^ "Company information North European Aviation Resources AS". Proff.no. http://www.proff.no/selskap/north-european-aviation-resources-as/vigra/-/984023324/. Retrieved 2011-06-04.