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Judge Denounces Silver Airways Management as Collapse Leaves 900 Jobless and Creditors Facing Massive Losses

“This is a system that works incredibly well, but unfortunately, didn't work well in this case.” With that, Judge Peter Russin concluded his remarks at the end of a remarkable hearing to address the collapse of Silver Airways. During Wednesday's hearing, the Southern District of Florida Bankruptcy Court was told that until last Friday night, purchaser Argentum Acquisitions believed that they were buying Silver as a going concern. The $5.5 million loan from Argentum's sister company KIA III would be enough to allow for such a sale, attorney Michael Shiner said they were assured by Silver management. However, the temporary grounding of the airline's fleet over the weekend of May 30 triggered a fast-moving sequence of events that left continuing operations impossible. The temporary cessation of flights, which in and of itself cost Silver approximately $1 million, led to weakened forward bookings. By the end of last week, the airline was out of cash. “Between the combination of the cost ...