Posted on 06/27/2002 2:39:45 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
WASHINGTON – Federal authorities have forced one of the largest flight schools in the country to shut down after discovering many of its foreign students overstaying their visas, WorldNetDaily has learned.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service says its investigation of Aer Mistral Flying School at Fort Worth Meacham International Airport in Texas is still active.
"That is still an open investigation," said Lynn Ligon, spokesman for the Dallas district office of the INS.
The school, popular among Arab nationals, lost its ability to issue M-1 vocational visas, and had to close its doors in March, said Meacham airport manager Luis Elguezabal. Meacham is owned by the City of Fort Worth.
But WorldNetDaily has learned that Aer Mistral owner Marco Caruso has opened a new school at nearby Hicks Airfield Inc.
Attempts to reach Caruso were unsuccessful. His dispatcher, Robert Casini, declined comment.
INS agents last year asked for Caruso's list of students around the same time WorldNetDaily reported that 14 young Syrian men waltzed into the U.S. to attend another Meacham school, Delta-Qualiflight Aeronautics, just a few weeks after the Islamic hijackings. Delta is one of four Arab-owned schools at the airport. Syria is on the U.S. terrorist blacklist.
The WND story, picked up by local and national media, triggered a small demonstration outside the airport that was monitored by Fort Worth police. Protestors demanded the airport shut down the school.
Elguezabal said Aer Mistral "had one of the biggest Middle Eastern groups" of students among the airport's eight flight schools.
"INS paid them a visit," he said, "and they had to close their doors because of INS violations related to I-20 forms," which support M-1 visas.
The now-defunct school was founded in 1990, according to its website, and averaged more than 200 students a year.
It was the largest flight school at Meacham with more than 20,000 square feet of hangar, office and maintenance space.
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