Manitoba flight school now barred from training pilots put students in 'significant danger': whistleblower

A Manitoba formation schoolhouse was banned from grooming pilots "in the involvement of nationalist safety," Transport Canada says, much than a twelvemonth aft a erstwhile teacher came guardant with allegations the schoolhouse failed to travel aviation rules and enactment students successful "significant danger."

Transport Canada cancelled the formation grooming portion relation certificate of Gimli-based LS Airways Flight Academy connected Nov. 19, 2024.

The national authorities section said successful an email to CBC News that the certificate cancellation was a "serious action," and is lone taken erstwhile oversight and monetary penalties bash not pb to compliance.

Wayne Liu said helium and respective different students alerted authorities astir information concerns astatine the school. They decided to study the schoolhouse to Transport Canada successful September 2023, helium said.

"I truly anticipation this [doesn't] hap again to different students," Liu said astir wherefore helium spoke up.

WATCH | Gimli formation schoolhouse enactment students successful danger, whistleblower claims successful lawsuit:

His suit is 1 of four filed against the schoolhouse successful the past twelvemonth alleging that the Gimli formation schoolhouse faked logs of flying hours, told students to alert with jerry cans of gasoline connected board, altered attraction records and exploited students. 

The school's owner, Noura Gharib, declined to beryllium interviewed. She said successful a telephone telephone with CBC she intends to combat the revocation.

'So regretful': student

Liu archetypal enrolled astatine the schoolhouse to person a U.S. formation teacher licence into a Canadian one, and taught astatine LS Airways for astir a period successful 2023 aft passing a formation test.

But Liu says helium should ne'er person gotten the teacher rating, due to the fact that LS Airways did not springiness him the fig of formation hours needed to suffice for the certification successful Canada.

The proprietor "never enactment maine connected the formation schedule," Liu said. 

"I [told] her … adjacent though I person immoderate experience, we inactive request to practise and conscionable requirements for the exam. Until 2 oregon 3 days earlier the formation test, she inactive ne'er flew with maine and [faked the] hours connected the PTR."

"PTR" stands for aviator grooming record, a logbook required to get aviator permits and ratings.

A aviator indispensable implicit a minimum of 30 hours of dual formation acquisition (training wherever a certified teacher is successful the aircraft) for a Class 4 teacher rating, among different requirements. Applicants person immoderate credits if they antecedently held that standing — done overseas accreditation, for example. 

In suit documents filed connected May 23, 2025, Liu alleges that Gharib instructed him to grounds mendacious numbers connected the grooming record. 

He said helium needed 15 formation hours to suffice for the licence, but got conscionable implicit 1 hr with a pupil — not a certified instructor.

"I was telling myself, 'Hey, I shouldn't bash this,'" helium said. "I accepted her wrongful instruction.… I was truthful regretful I did those incorrect things."

Company fined much than $46K

Liu, from Taiwan, trained arsenic a aviator successful the U.S. and taught astatine a formation schoolhouse successful Georgia earlier coming to Canada, readying to yet settee successful the country. He was nether a batch of accent to get his Canadian instructor's licence due to the fact that helium wanted to get a occupation successful aviation and past bring his household to unrecorded with him, helium said.

Liu said that aft helium came forward, authorities officials told him his teacher standing was nary longer valid and that helium had to spell to a antithetic formation schoolhouse to get it back.

The schoolhouse "took each my savings," helium said. The suit says LS Airways wrongfully accepted $15,495.54 successful tuition payments.

"I was expecting like, hey, conscionable travel the rules, spell to a formation school, get my teacher standing … truthful I tin get much hours, past moving connected to possibly charters."

Liu present wants the wealth helium paid for tuition astatine LS Airways back, truthful helium tin reapply for the grooming helium needs to go an teacher successful Canada.

"Because of this school, I consciousness truthful depressed," helium said. "It's similar I couldn't implicit my program — wasted wealth and clip here."

A nationalist station from Sept. 9 connected Transport Canada's website shows the formation schoolhouse — identified as 10113158 Manitoba Ltd., its concern registry fig — was fined $28,500 for 3 counts of violating Canada's aviation regulations.

The violations are related to transporting radical oregon cargo without being certified to bash so, operating an craft without due registration and failing to conscionable unit grounds requirements.

The charges stemmed from incidents betwixt July and August of 2023, according to a determination issued by Transport Canada past May, which mentions the schoolhouse didn't support due records for Liu arsenic an assigned formation instructor.

The fines were outstanding arsenic of Jan. 25, and the schoolhouse had not filed for a review, national tribunal documents say.

The unauthorized transport work usurpation is related to operations from Gimli to Island Lake and Little Grand Rapids successful eastbound Manitoba connected July 24, 2023.

This month, Transport Canada made 2 much violations public. In March 2024, the institution fto an craft instrumentality disconnected erstwhile it had not been maintained successful accordance with an approved attraction schedule, or successful accordance with "airworthiness limitations," according to Transport Canada. 

The 2 violations resulted successful $18,000 successful further fines.

In his lawsuit, Liu alleges the schoolhouse required students to support "incorrect attraction paperwork" that near retired operational clip utilized to cipher lipid changes.

Liu's suit besides alleges LS Airways directed students to question to a formation trial successful Lindsay, Ont., with 5 20-litre jerry cans of substance successful the compartment to debar charges astatine the Lindsay airport. The suit calls that a "serious information violation" that exposed students to "significant danger." 

No connection of defence has been filed, and the allegations haven't been tested successful court.

Lawsuits filed by 3 different students

LS Airways advertised itself arsenic a "designated learning institution-registered Canadian formation school" connected its now-unavailable website. The designated learning institution, oregon DLI, presumption allows Canadian schools to big planetary students. 

A spokesperson for the provincial government, which manages designated learning institutions successful Manitoba, said successful an email the state revoked LS Airways' DLI presumption connected March 18, 2024, pursuing an probe launched successful January of that year.

The spokesperson said the probe recovered determination had been an unreported alteration successful ownership. Since the designation is non-transferable betwixt owners, the school's DLI presumption was revoked.

The ownership alteration had happened "several years earlier," the provincial spokesperson said. LS Airways applied for a caller DLI status, but the exertion is presently paused, according to the spokesperson.

"The section is prepared to resume its reappraisal erstwhile LS Airways has resolved immoderate and each outstanding items with Transport Canada," the spokesperson said.

The Canadian Civil Aircraft Register shows 2 Cessnas that erstwhile belonged to LS Airways were nary longer owned by the schoolhouse arsenic of June. 

A suit filed successful December by different erstwhile LS Airways pupil claims helium entered an statement with Gharib to thatch astatine the schoolhouse erstwhile helium got his teacher standing there. His suit alleges that Gharib unilaterally dismissed him aft helium complained astir the services the schoolhouse provided.

The connection of assertion besides alleges, among different things, that Gharib falsified grooming records with different teacher who was not Liu. 

In a connection of defence, Gharib denied each allegations successful the December lawsuit.

Another suit was filed connected Feb. 20 by a antithetic student, who claims she was employed arsenic a part-time dispatcher astatine the schoolhouse and was besides unjustly dismissed aft complaining.

The pupil alleges she was not allowed to fly, contempt paying $1,600 successful fees. She claims she besides had to wage for substance out-of-pocket doubly and wasn't reimbursed, and that she didn't get her wealth backmost aft paying fees for a formation trial she didn't complete.

The pupil besides said she was besides ne'er fixed a aviator grooming record, contempt galore requests. 

In different connection of defence, Gharib denied each the allegations successful the February lawsuit, saying the pupil was ne'er employed by the school.

Gharib countersued the pupil for defamation, saying successful tribunal documents the pupil failed aggregate formation tests and disclosed a "history of unsafe manoeuvres" astatine a erstwhile school.

And different lawsuit, filed by a pupil from Thailand connected April 24, said that formation instructors astatine the schoolhouse lacked valid teaching licences and had obtained them done processes "not evidently successful compliance with" regulations.

The schoolhouse denied the allegation successful a connection of defence. It said it "meticulously maintained" each required documentation, including teacher credentials and craft records, and that it conducted attraction "strictly successful accordance" with approved procedures.

None of the allegations contained successful the 4 lawsuits filed by students person been tested successful court.

Meanwhile, Liu said helium would inactive similar to bring his family, including his four-year-old child, to Canada, but his aboriginal is inactive up successful the air.

"I'm inactive struggling astir my plan. I don't cognize what tin I do," he said.

"[The] full schoolhouse worldly benignant of [broke] everything. If the proprietor … conscionable [followed] the rules, this wouldn't happen."