Seaborne Aviation’s seaplanes won’t be flying the skies between St. Croix and St. Thomas the next several days as mechanics inspect parts similar to those that caused the crash of an Alaskan Airlines plane last week.
On Friday, John Schildroth, president and chief executive officer of Seaborne, said flights were canceled because of a mandatory national inspection of aircraft flaps.
As mechanics began going over Seaborne’s three planes, Schildroth said a few items were found that required replacement.
"So instead of letting the airplane be in the air . . . we have shut them down to replace things," he said. "We are a very small operation, but we are just as safe an operation as American is."
Schildroth said his nine mechanics would work through the weekend to get the planes back in the air, hopefully by Tuesday.