The Sierra Academy of Aeronautics is an aviation flight school headquartered in

Atwater, California Atwater is a city on California State Route 99, State Route 99 in Merced County, California, Merced County, California, United States. Atwater is west-northwest of Merced, California, Merced, at an elevation of . The population as of the 2020 Uni ...

. It operates its training facility at the former Castle Air Force Base in

. Sierra Academy was contracted by several foreign air carriers to perform pilot training, including Shanghai Airlines.

History

The Sierra Academy formerly was based at the

Oakland International Airport Oakland International Airport is an international airport in Oakland, California, United States, 10 miles (16 km) south of downtown located in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned by the Port of Oakland and has domestic passenger f ...

, where it had hangars, offices, and classrooms. It was owned by the Everett family of

Atherton, California Atherton () is an List of municipalities in California, incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, San Mateo County, California, United States. Its population was 7,188 as of 2020. Atherton is known for its wealth; in 1990 and 2019, Athe ...

. In 1996,

Hani Hanjour ) , birth_place = Taif, Saudi Arabia , death_date = , death_place = Arlington County, Virginia, U.S. , death_cause = Plane crash, suicide , known_for = Hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 77 (as ...

who would later fly a hijacked airliner into the Pentagon was admitted to the Sierra Academy of Aeronautics, but before beginning flight training, the academy arranged for Hanjour to take intensive English courses at ELS Language Center in Oakland. The flight school also arranged for Hanjour to stay with a host family, with whom he moved in with on May 20, 1996.FBI Hijackers' Timeline Hanjour completed the English program in August, and in early September 1996, he attended a single day of ground school courses at the Sierra Academy of Aeronautics before withdrawing, citing financial worries about the $35,000 cost. Two Korean business men, Dan and John Yoon, bought the company as open of an asset sale, and re-opened the flight school, operating under KS Aviation (KSA). In 2004, the new owners moved its Oakland program to the former

Korean Airlines Korean Air Co., Ltd. (), operating as Korean Air (Korean Air Lines before 1984), is the flag carrier of South Korea and its largest airline based on fleet size, international destinations and international flights. The present-day Korean Air ...

facility at the airport in

Livermore, California Livermore (formerly Livermorès, Livermore Ranch, and Nottingham) is a city in Alameda County, California. With a 2020 population of 87,955, Livermore is the most populous city in the Tri-Valley. It is located on the eastern edge of Californ ...

(KLVK). The company took advantage of the growing Indian market and began accepting students from all over India. This was mostly a result of the declining U.S. based students who could no longer find funding for flight training. While the Livermore campus was running, KSA also opened up a large campus at

Castle Airport Castle Airport is a public airport in unincorporated Merced County, California, northwest of Merced. The airport is operated by the Merced County Department of Commerce, Aviation, and Economic Development. It is owned jointly by the city of Me ...

(KMER, formerly Castle AFB) in 2005. In January 2007, the company started moving all remaining students and employees to its existing facilities at the former Castle AFB (KMER). In February 2014, The

FAA The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

proposed a civil penalty of $204,050 against Sierra for "allegedly operating nine Cessna 152 airplanes when they were not in compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations." The FAA alleged that Sierra did not properly inspect the seat locking pins. An improperly engaged pin could lead to the seat slipping and the pilot losing control of the airplane.

Awards

In 1992 the

National Air Transportation Association The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) is the public policy group that represents the interests of the general aviation business community before the Congress and federal, state and local government agencies. NATA, founded in 1940, rep ...

(NATA) honored Sierra Academy of Aeronautics with the Excellence in Pilot Training Award. This national award, sponsored by

Jeppesen Sanderson Jeppesen (also known as Jeppesen Sanderson) is an American company offering navigational information, operations planning tools, flight planning products and software. Jeppesen's aeronautical navigation charts are often called "Jepp charts" or s ...

, provides recognition for "outstanding contributions in safety, professionalism, leadership, and excellence in the field of pilot training."

Notes

External links

* {{coord, 37, 21, 49, N, 120, 34, 6, W, type:landmark_region:US_dim:280, display=title Aviation schools in the United States