46 Indonesians sue after flight school closes

46 Indonesians sue after flight school closes

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP): When Southwind Aviation closed its
flight school last week, 46 Indonesian students were left without
the education they paid for.

The students have since filed a lawsuit in federal court
demanding that the school's owner, Robert Harper, pay back the
nearly $800,000 they say they paid for tuition and housing.

The students allege in the lawsuit that they paid between
$20,000 and $40,000 for classes and flying practice, depending on
the level of experience each had when they began.

Harper could not be reached for comment Wednesday, the
Brownsville Herald reported Thursday.

Peter P. Ameel, the school's former general partner, said
Harper has been out of town liquidating the company's assets.
Ameel declined comment on the lawsuit.

In the lawsuit, the students have asked a federal judge to
issue a restraining order against Harper to keep him from selling
the school's property.

Ameel said he was at the school working without pay Wednesday
"to help the students. We're just trying to do something for
them."

Junior Rorimpandey, 22, said he left Indonesia nine months ago
to go to flight school.

"They stopped our education just like that, so suddenly,"
Rorimpandey said.

The lawsuit alleges that the school continued to collect
tuition even after the owner knew it was going out of business.

"I need my money back," said Ferry Safiandry, 30, who needed
just eight hours of flying to complete his pilot certification
when classes stopped.

"That wasn't easy to get the dollars. You have to go to the
black market," to get American currency in Indonesia, he said.

It is likely the flight hours and course work that students
have already completed will apply toward their certification at
another school, Safiandry said.

But many of them cannot afford to enroll at another school
until they are reimbursed, he said.

Harper blamed the Asian economic crisis for drying up the
pipeline of students headed to his school. There were 80 students
enrolled in classes when the doors closed.

Another group of 11 Korean students said they were also shut
out when the school closed.

"We can't go back to our country without a license," said Jin-
Soo Jung, who came to the school from South Korea in July.