What Owners Need to Know. One possible bright spot, McCreary noted, comes from reports that SACI has entered into an agreement to be purchased by a U.S.-based trust company. While that should satisfy the citizenship requirement, it’s unclear how the FAA would handle reregistration of the affected aircraft. There is also the potential for greater attention by the FAA on other trust companies based outside the U.S. “The agency has always held trust companies under close scrutiny,” McCreary said. “However, trusts are valid and legal ways to register an aircraft and they’re absolutely critical to the industry. The FAA is not calling that into question.” thoroughly investigate and understand that the company does meet the FAA’s citizenship requirements,” said Benjamin Schwalen, NBAA general counsel and corporate secretary and staff liaison to the NBAA Tax Committee. “Anyone who engages with a trust company should carefully vet that entity,” added Scott McCreary, vice president for McAfee & Taft and member of the NBAA Tax Committee. “You need to understand who they are and what their reputation is. And that’s not just a one-time thing; it should be monitored frequently, like you would any other asset.” McCreary’s assessment about the SACI matter, and its broader implications for operators and other parties to aircraft ownership, is further detailed in a Jan. 14 LinkedIn summary he authored, FAA Invalidates Aircraft Registrations Issued to One Owner Trustee: 16 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 13, ISSUE 01
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