NEWARK, N.J. – Three executives for a Florida-based charter jet company are seeking to blame mechanical failure for a 2005 crash at New Jersey's Teterboro Airport.
Platinum Jet Management co-founders Michael and Paul Brassington and maintenance chief Brien McKenzie are on trial in federal court, charged with conspiracy and lying to authorities. Michael Brassington also is charged with endangering the safety of an aircraft.
The three are accused of violating rules for commercial charters and with misstating the weights of planes to load up on cheap fuel.
Prosecutors say the plane that crashed at Teterboro was overloaded with fuel, contributing to its inability to take off.
Defense attorneys on Friday sought to blame the crash on the failure of the plane's steering mechanism.
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