Students of Atlantis Flight Academy in Pembroke Pines, Florida, are left in a standstill after the flight school shut down immediately when its owner died in a plane crash in March 2024.
Atlantis Flight Academy CEO and owner Alfredo Diez was tragically killed in a Virginia private plane crash that also claimed the lives of Diez’s wife and three-year-old son.
Shortly after Diez’s passing, Atlantis Flight Academy was shut down, leaving more than a hundred students at a crossroads regarding continuing their education.
Media outlet Local 10 reported that the students were advised that the training hours they had studied and worked for, including the thousands of dollars they paid for school tuition, were “gone for good.”
Creditors went to court and filed big claims against the flight academy immediately after Diez’s passing.
Local 10 quoted a probate attorney for the owners’ estate as saying that the estate has to go through the legal process, and creditors have to be paid in a certain order.
“In this case, there are bank loans that are secured creditors and unfortunately, they are in a priority position over the students,” the probate attorney said. “It’s an unfortunate situation, but the law must be adhered to.”
Attorneys representing 20 flight academy students told CBS Miami that the students are in a difficult position, “through no fault of their own.”
“While we offer our condolences and empathize with the family’s loss, the students fear for their future, both occupationally and economically,” the attorneys said. “These students now have to claw back their monies from a school that is no longer viable and whose assets are presently being marshaled.”
“Unfortunately, the students will now be required to find another school which is properly accredited which will hopefully understand that they have already paid once for their education,” the attorneys continued.
The matter is currently under the jurisdiction of the probate court of Broward County.