Shepherd Aero of Bellingham, WA recently delivered an aircraft to its new owner amid the turmoil of the COVID-19 crisis. This was not a typical ‘point A to point B’ ferry flight, though, as the Piper Meridian aircraft was flown from Bournemouth airport in the UK to Jefferson City, Missouri in the US as its final destination.

Shepherd took to the skies when most around this globe weren’t even able to leave their homes, but Shepherd has a new safety and risk management protocol in place that is allowing the firm to fulfil its missions in spite of new and constantly-changing airport and airspace restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. By conducting COVID-19 testing for its crew members both before and after ferry missions, as well as implementing stringent safety measures while on duty, Shepherd has been able to keep the borders open in order to get aircraft home to their owners.

Even more impressive is the timeline in which all of this was accomplished. Travis Holland, Shepherd Aero’s president, notes: “Last year, a normal transaction would have a certificate of airworthiness issued a few days after closing, and we would expect to deliver the aircraft within a week afterwards. These are anything but normal times. But, this week, we accomplished exactly this 'normal' timeline. It was twice the effort on the inside, but to our clients, we performed as if there was no crisis." Holland attributes the success of the mission to his dedicated dispatch and maintenance team working “literally around the clock” to help the flight crew get across the world safely and efficiently.

From new paperwork and new customs procedures, to closed airports and higher-than-forecasted winds, the Piper Meridian still made it home to its owner exactly on schedule, adding yet another thrilled client to Shepherd Aero’s base.