Roy Halladay, 40, dies in plane crash in Gulf of Mexico

[jmowreader]

3. If you'd like to see a company that hates its customers...

...the manufacturer of this plane qualifies.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICON_A5

In April 2016 the ICON A5 purchaser's agreement was made public and was noted by the aviation media as containing many controversial elements not usually found in aircraft purchase agreements. These include contractually required pilot training, maintenance, agreements not to sue, the requirement for factory airframe overhauls every 2,000 hours, or ten years (whichever comes first), and a limit on the aircraft's life of 6,000 hours, or thirty years. Furthermore, each aircraft would be equipped with a camera and recorder to monitor pilot behavior, that is owned by the manufacturer but must be maintained by the owner. Owners would have to agree to be "supportive" of the company. Future owners were required to sign the same agreement or face penalties.[50][51]

The agreement was widely criticized by the aviation media, including Plane & Pilot, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, AVweb and the Experimental Aircraft Association, among others.[52][50][51][53][54][55]

In responding to the criticism, ICON CEO Kirk Hawkins issued an open letter on April 8, 2016, that said in part, "To those following the ICON Aircraft Purchase Agreement discussion: We hear you–loud and clear. And I promise, we’re listening carefully...If we need to improve our contract to help safely grow our industry–we will."[56][57]