The entrepreneurs behind Morgan Aircraft, a startup based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, planned to develop and build a twin turboprop VTOL business aircraft, but they have now shut down the company and filed for receivership, according to local news reports. The receivership process is similar to bankruptcy, and allows the company’s assets to be sold off to repay its debtors. The company’s only assets, however, according to WTAQ, are the patents for the aircraft. The patents will be sold, but the proceeds are not expected to cover the company’s debts.
The company launched in 2009. At the time, co-founder Mark O’Halloran said their aircraft would combine “jet-speed forward flight with the ability to land in a parking lot.” Co-founder Brian Morgan said he expected to start flight testing in 2013, with deliveries to begin in 2017. The Journal Sentinel says “the venture never moved beyond the start-up phase.” By 2013, the company was a year behind on its lease payments to the Sheboygan County airport. Morgan Aircraft was given a $686,000 state loan, which could have been forgiven if they had created 340 jobs and met other conditions, with a deadline set for this week. State officials say they’ll try to recover the tax money, according to WTAQ. The company also owes about $1 million to Oostburg State Bank.
