Affaire Thielert : l’administrateur judiciaire Kübler accuse Diamond Aircraft

A l’occasion du salon aéronautique de Berlin, ILA 2008, Dr. Bruno M. Kübler, administrateur judiciaire en charge du dossier de la faillite du motoriste allemand Thielert, a fait le point sur le dossier Thielert. Il a également dénoncé les agissements de Diamond Aircraft qui selon lui crée un climat malsain autour de cette affaire.

Bonne nouvelle. L’administrateur judiciaire allemand, Dr. Bruno M. Kübler, a annoncé lors d’une conférence de presse donnée par Thielert Aircraft Engines GmbH dans le cadre du salon aéronautique de Berlin (ILA, 27 mai 2008) que la livraison des pièces de rechange et des moteurs venait de reprendre. Il a également précisé que seules les commandes assorties du règlement seraient honorées.

 » As we already announced yesterday, Thielert Aircraft Engines GmbH has resumed the delivery of spare parts and engines to its customers. However, in accordance with German insolvency law we are forced to demand payment in advance. The same provision applies also to maintenance work. At the present these measures are indispensable for maintening the company’s business operations. »

L’administrateur a également rappelé que Frank Thielert faisait toujours partie de la société, malgré les graves accusations qui pèsent sur lui. Il a précisé qu’au regard de l’administration de l’aviation civile allemande, il était toujours responsable des agréments de production et du suivi de navigabilité.

« As far as the position of the company’s founder is concerned, there are some who are of the opinion that Mr. Thielert should no longer appear here in public because of the criminal accusations that have been levied against him. In this regard I would like to note that we are still in the stage of the provisional insolvency proceedings and that Mr. Thielert is still the managing director. He also continues to be the personal holder of permits under aviation law, such as those for the company’s manufacturing and maintenance operations. The German Federal Office of Aviation, with which talks have taken place, currently sees no reason to demand any changes in personnel under Supervisory Board provisions. Insofar Mr. Thielert continues to be responsible for the tasks associated with the aforementioned permits. »

Dr. Bruno M. Kübler n’a pas hésité à accuser Diamond Aircraft d’entretenir un climat délétère autour de l’affaires et de profiter de la situation. La proposition financière adressée par l’avionneur autrichien pour l’achat d’un stock important de moteurs et de pièces détachées ont été jugées inacceptables par l’administrateur allemand.

« The current disconcertion on the part of the customers is attributable to a disinformation campaign initiated by the airplane manufacturer Diamond Aircraft. In the past few days Diamond repeatedly let it be said that I was not very cooperative in negotiations and did not seem very interested in securing the TAE business in the long term.

This argumentation is a blatant misrepresentation of the facts. In actual fact, Diamond offered to buy a large number of engines and spare parts – but at a price considerably lower than the price that would be charged to the end customer. That’s how Diamond tried to negotiate special conditions. Diamond has not yet directly responded to our offer dating from May 13, 2008, in which ninety percent of the required spare parts available would be delivered to Diamond. Now that more than one week has passed, we will release the parts for the market. »

Concernant la garantie, l’administrateur a été clair en rappelant que la loi allemande relative aux faillittes ne permet pas que la garantie puisse couvrir les produits livrés antérieurement.

« In terms of the customers we are in a difficult situation – particularly with regard to the end customers. German insolvency law does not permit the assumption of warranties or guarantees free of charge for products and services supplied prior to the declaration of insolvency. At present we would not even be in a position to do in economical terms. For this reason we hope that the airplane manufacturers will step into the breach here. In the European legal realm this represents a valid obligation in any case. Of course the full warranty applies for any spare parts and engines supplied after the insolvency petition within the scope of the company’s General Standard Terms and Conditions (but not the Terms of Guarantee of the Limited Pro Rata Manufacturer’s Guarantee). »

A ce propos, Diamond Aircraft fait circuler un document ci-joint dans lequel, il décline explicitement sa responsabilité quant au moteur.

Pour beaucoup de propriétaires privés, de sociétés et d’aéro-clubs, la situation risque de rapidement devenir intenable.

Gil Roy

Photos : © Gil Roy.