Czech manufacturer LET, producers of the venerable Let-410 turboprop, was declared bankrupt on October 24. American investor the Ayres Corporation backed the company back in 1998, but according to sources at LET, funds were not forthcoming.

A petition was filed by Pan Pacific Airways, some LET staff who had not been paid, and a local bank. The problem has been "a poor investor", according to EBAN's source at the company. "Our investor did not perform well, and did not come up with any money here. They were not able to manage both companies, over there in the US and here, and the Loadmaster project, which was undertaken by both companies, required a lot of funds which could not be generated by LET product sales alone," he added.

The L410 has been been in production since 1969 - "And I believe that will continue," the source said. "We are continuing operations and providing product support, we have some aircraft here being built to order, and a few customers' aircraft are here for revisions and modifications. Ayres did not pay enough attention to LET, just to the Loadmaster programme."