I remember seeing this somewhere, and in the report there it pointed out that the CIA apparently hire planes just like anyone else... of course, I've no idea who actually owns the plane, but I'm sure it's someone interesting.
N-number : N987SA
Aircraft Serial Number : 172
Aircraft Manufacturer : GRUMMAN AMERICAN AVN. CORP.
Model : G-1159
Engine Manufacturer : ROLLS-ROYC
Model : SPEY MK 511SR
Aircraft Year : 1975
Owner Name : DONNA BLUE AIRCRAFT INC
Owner Address : 4811 LYONS TECHNOLOGY PKWY STE 8
COCONUT CREEK, FL, 33073-4346
Type of Owner : Corporation
Registration Date : 31-Aug-2007
Airworthiness Certificate Type : Standard
Approved Operations : Transport
2: Individuals & companies love to say "My private plane"
3: Running one of these costs a small fortune
4: Having a pilot on standby 24 / 7 costs a small fortune
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The truth of 80% of these private aircraft.
Because of the above 4 points, many individuals & companies get sold on the idea that 'hiring out their toy' will aid the upkeep.
This is indeed true, most of the private planes in the UK & USA in the air at any moment have 'paying customers' in them.
Right from the get go (when a customer is shopping for an aircraft like this) the salesman will convince the customer that the aircraft is an investment, he will also offer the name & numbers of companies that the customer can contact & almost immediatly start making money on their new plane.
Of course, the salesperson offers the service & suggests private hire to make the craft more viable, he will also make cash from the company the customer contacts (be it a one time or an every hired flight).
The companies that have all these craft on their books don't seem to care who rents them, the true owners have little to no knowledge of who is in their plane nor it's destination.
The above info was gleened from seeing this practice first hand when a friend was shopping for a smaller private jet several years ago in Florida.
He & his family use it maybe 5 or 6 times a year, the hanger fees, maintanance & pilot is paid for by a company that has his aircraft in the air virtualy 3 days a week when it's not booked for himself.
For this he also gets a nice check every 3 months (approx $3k per rental), deepending on destination & hours, the company that hires it out can make anywhere between $1k & $2k per hour (remember it's small, holds 6 passengers only).
As for who rents it / them... anybody with the money to spare.
Nobody seems to care about destination except the pilot/s or who boards the flights, after all it's private.
Case in point, a group (8) of us rented a small craft a while ago for a batcholor party of a friend in Chicago (we were in Delaware).
Everything was done over the phone, paid for by credit card, no papers sent nor signed..
Only two questions were asked: Do we need a pilot & when would we be returning?
It was just a case of get to the strip, board the craft & we were off.
My point here being...
Anybody from smugglers to the CIA could have rented this thing along with individuals.
"Donna Blue Aircraft, Inc" could have been one of these companies that just rent out craft & or offer services stated above.
Occasionaly individuals who want to upgrade or just sell of their craft will sell it to the company that has been handling it for them.
A lot of these companies are in fact just a guy with a phone, a rolladex & PO BOX.
Clyde O'Connor and Greg Smith—the pilots who purchased N987SA several days before the crash—than Donna Blue Aircraft, as I have my doubts that DBA is involved in anything. Clyde O'Connor, however, fled the country for the Azores shortly after the crash, and Greg Smith is a contract pilot for the DEA, FBI, and CIA.