Ventura man arrested in scheme to repair helicopters with parts prone to failure

A federal grand jury indicted a Ventura man for allegedly repairing helicopters with parts approaching the end of their lifespan, making the aircraft more likely to fail.

Jared Michael Swensen, 48, and his Oxnard-based company, Light Helicopter Depot, face two counts of wire fraud and eight counts of fraud involving aircraft parts for the alleged scheme, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. If convicted, Swenson faces a maximum of 160 years in prison. 

In addition to standard maintenance work, Swenson's company overhauled helicopters with parts nearing or at the end of their lifespan, according to investigators. Instead of swapping the parts with newer replacements, Swenson allegedly used pieces that were much older than he represented or nearing the end of their lifespan, including main rotor blades and spindles. 

The Department of Justice said that if the parts failed, the helicopter would likely crash. 

Investigators said he allegedly made materially false entries in the helicopter's maintenance logbook. Federal prosecutors said he also allegedly altered sales orders and packing slips to correspond with the false entries, making the parts appear years newer than their actual age. In a similar situation, Swenson allegedly altered the Federal Aviation Administration certificates used to ensure the helicopter parts were airworthy, according to the DOJ.