FAA: Longtime MacArthur Airport charter company kept flying despite safety concerns

Four top officials at a private jet charter company that operated for decades at Long Island MacArthur Airport resigned last year amid allegations that upper management falsified flight records. But even after federal regulators stepped in over safety concerns, the company allegedly kept flying paying passengers.

The Federal Aviation Administration is seeking a $260,868 penalty against ExcelAire LLC, accusing the company of operating two unauthorized charter flights after losing the management personnel responsible for overseeing flight safety, according to a Sept. 11 notice obtained by Newsday.

The four officials resigned June 9 and 10, 2025. They included director of operations Eric Robbins, chief pilot Joseph Lepore, director of safety John Reese and director of maintenance Michael Anello.

ExcelAire did not respond to Newsday’s requests for comment. Newsday also sought comment from the four officials who resigned but did not receive responses.

According to the FAA, their resignation letters alleged that upper management had falsified flight documentation and that required managers no longer controlled the company’s operations. Robbins also surrendered ExcelAire’s air carrier certificate to the agency.

The departures left ExcelAire without the approved managers required to oversee its charter flights, the FAA alleges. Those positions are responsible for ensuring flights are conducted safely and in compliance with federal regulations.

On July 21, 2025,  the FAA formally intervened over ExcelAire's lack of required management personnel and called for a review of the company's operations. ExcelAire acknowledged the action the following day, according to the notice.

But in August 2025, ExcelAire allegedly accepted $180,000 from charter broker Private Jet Services and operated two passenger flights, one from South Dakota to Missouri and another from Missouri to Florida. The FAA says the company lacked the required authorization to conduct the flights.

“The conduct of ExcelAire demonstrates a disregard for the safety of the flying public, and its actions were careless or reckless so as to endanger the lives and property of others,” the FAA said in a statement.

During a September 2025 examination in Farmingdale, ExcelAire submitted records describing the two flights as private rather than commercial operations, according to the FAA. Regulators also said the company failed to provide completed passenger and crew manifests.

ExcelAire operated out of MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma for more than 30 years, at one point leasing more than 200,000 square feet of office and hangar space.

The company made international headlines in 2006 when one of its business jets collided with a Brazilian passenger plane, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. The Brazilian airliner crashed into the Amazon rainforest, killing all 154 people aboard, while the ExcelAire jet landed safely. The collision led to years of legal proceedings.

ExcelAire was acquired in 2023 by fellow Ronkonkoma charter operator Executive Fliteways. Fliteways president James Prinzivalli told Newsday he sold ExcelAire to Antony Bell and his son Marcos Bell in 2024 after incorporating its aircraft into his company’s fleet. Prinzivalli said the businesses no longer have any relationship.

A spokesperson for the Town of Islip, which owns the airport, said ExcelAire no longer operates at MacArthur, although the town has not said when it left. The FAA continued to list Ronkonkoma as ExcelAire’s business location in a database updated Oct. 13.

After Newsday questioned the town about ExcelAire, the airport removed the company’s listing from its website last week.

When Newsday visited ExcelAire’s listed Ronkonkoma address, no company signage was visible and the doors were locked. Workers at an adjacent business said the space is now occupied by a flight school.

Kent S. Jackson, an aviation attorney with no connection to the case, said the allegations are unusual because ExcelAire had previously been authorized to operate commercial charter flights, unlike many illegal charter operators that never obtained federal approval.

“It’s surprising to me that [ExcelAire] was so brazen,” Jackson said. “I wonder if they convinced themselves that they were doing something legal.”

The FAA gave ExcelAire 30 days from receipt of its notice to respond to the proposed penalty. The current status of the case could not be determined. The FAA did not respond to a question from Newsday late Monday on whether ExcelAire has responded to the complaint