Beirut Wings scandal: Unlicensed instructors and falsified flight records raise safety concerns

Report by Maroun Nassif, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

When corruption goes beyond causing financial harm to the public treasury or citizens and reaches the point of threatening human lives, it becomes the most dangerous form of corruption.

This is the case with the violations committed by Beirut Wings, a company specializing in training pilots who fly small aircraft. The violations, uncovered by the Lebanese State Security, could have endangered the lives of many passengers had Public Works Minister Fayez Rasamny not intervened and ordered the company’s closure.

The case began when an informant submitted a report to State Security, along with documents confirming that Beirut Wings had committed a series of administrative violations that threatened civil aviation safety. State Security opened an investigation under the supervision of Public Prosecutor Judge Jamal al-Hajjar and informed Rasamny, who formed a technical committee from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to conduct an inquiry. 

The investigation revealed a major scandal on several levels.

Investigators found that the company hired flight instructors who did not hold licenses issued by civil aviation authorities. In some cases, company management allegedly falsified records by replacing the names of unlicensed instructors with those of licensed trainers.

The probe also uncovered manipulation of flight-hour records for aircraft used in training, as well as tampering with the documentation of students’ flight hours. These practices raised serious questions about the competence of instructors and the validity of the certificates issued to trainees.

Beirut Wings, which has operated at Beirut Airport since 2007, has previously been linked to violations. Two years ago, media reports said the company’s director, identified as Capt. A.Y., and its operations manager, Capt. W.H., embezzled about $3 million and avoided carrying out routine maintenance on the company’s aircraft.

In light of these findings, questions remain about how Beirut Wings was able to renew its certifications despite the volume of alleged violations and who protected the company over the years.