AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2015 - 76

A DAY PAVED WITH SILVER
Popovich's company works with
helicopters, too

76 | 

"He was kind enough," Popovich says.
"But for the airplane being parked there for
a few months, they wanted a million dollars. We called the bank and told them to
wire it there, and we went to the airplane.
The airport manager sent along five or six
kids with machine guns to watch while
his mechanics inspected it, and an airport
mechanic airstarted the engines. I gave him
some cash and told him if he came back
at two o'clock in the morning I'd give him
more money."
They waited until the mechanic
showed up at 2 a.m. Once both engines
were running, Popovich advanced the
throttles, and taxied fast to the end of the
runway and started his takeoff roll. Four
thousand feet away the truck with the
machine-gun kids blocked the runway.
The airliner didn't have enough speed
to make it over the truck. He swerved off
the runway and rolled into the weeds.
The machine-gun kids shot through the
engines and bayonetedthe jet's fuel cells,

One of Nick Popovich's biggest
undertakings is also one of his most
famous. When helicopter flight
training and air tour company Silver
State Helicopters was outed as
a pyramid scheme for its greedy
owner and abruptly closed its doors
on February 3, 2008, Popovich
was called in to literally pick up the
pieces.
With dozens of locations nationwide, repossessing Silver State's
aircraft and other valuable assets
took a coordinated effort. To make
it happen Popovich rounded up a
staff of more than 100, and used
roughly 125 flatbed trucks to repossess more than 240 helicopters. It
took just 24 hours. There also were
dozens of cars, some airplanes,
simulators, and office furniture.
Popovich took the helicopters
to Sky Helicopters in Texas and
the rest of the aircraft inventory to
his facility in Indiana, where it was
parted out for the banks.
-Ian J. Twombly

while Popovich hopped out of the airliner
and yelled for them to stop. "I push one
of them," he says, "and he and his buddies
beat the hell out of me."
Popovich regained consciousness in
a small cell with a wire-mesh ceiling and
35 prisoners crammed inside. "I met with
the guys from the U.S. embassy, and the
Haitians wanted $100,000 for bail," he
says. "I didn't know anyone who would pay
it for me, the bank least of all." Seven days
later, rebels overthrew Haitian President
Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier and the
city erupted in chaos. "Someone threw
open the cell door," Popovich says. "I ran
to the Sheraton downtown. The hotel was
kind of in chaos. Everything was goofy. I
helped myself to a room and I arranged for
a friend to pick me up." The next day he
was back in the states.
"The other guys scattered when I was
getting beat up," Popovich says. "I'm still
in touch with them. I don't blame them.
We had decided beforehand it was every

Every GRAM
has a purpose.

Learn more at cubcrafters.com

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2015

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