News Release
10/27/2009
W.A. Drew Edmondson, Attorney General
Tulsa Pilot School Students Receive Debt Forgiveness
A multistate agreement with Student Loan Express includes partial loan forgiveness for more than 60 Oklahoma student pilots, Attorney General Edmondson said.
Edmondson and the attorneys general from 11 other states reached a $112.7 million agreement with student loan originator Student Loan Express (SLX) that includes significant debt forgiveness. SLX had provided educational loans to students at flight schools operated by now-defunct Silver State Helicopters.
“Before declaring bankruptcy in 2008, Silver State operated 34 flight schools across the country including a helicopter pilot school in Tulsa,” Edmondson said. “This left many students with outstanding student loans and no way to complete their training.”
Sixty-one Oklahoma students are eligible to receive some level of loan forgiveness totaling about $3 million.
Under the agreement reached in conjunction with a private, class-action lawsuit, students who had not received any FAA certifications at the time of the bankruptcy are forgiven 75 percent of their loan debt. Those who had received one or more certifications receive reduced debt forgiveness based on the number of certifications received. The agreement also precludes SLX from reporting negative information to credit reporting agencies regarding students who failed to make loan payments prior to the agreement.
“Silver State’s bankruptcy left these student pilots grounded,” Edmondson said. “Tuition at the school was almost $70,000 for 12-18 months of instruction. That’s significant money, especially for the students who received no training.”
The attorney general said his office received eight consumer complaints about the school.