If a plane you own is parked east of the Mississippi River and you can’t afford it anymore, there’s a pretty high chance it’ll end up at Greenwood-Leflore Airport.
That’s because Ken Hill, an airplane repo man with a stout reputation, stores the fruits of his labors at Cotton Belt Aviation. Nine of Hill’s repos are sitting at the hangar today, and with the economy continuing to sour, more are to be expected.
“It’s like that movie ‘Groundhog Day,’” Hill said of his demanding schedule. “Get through one day and I’m up doing the exact same thing the next.”
Since getting into the plane repossession business more than two decades ago, Hill has averaged 30 planes a year. This year, he believes he’ll break 200.
“We’ve pulled in 17 airplanes over the last 38 days,” he said during a telephone interview Monday. “We’re at it 15, 20 hours a day.”
Hill met Bill Henderson, a pilot who also owns Cotton Belt Aviation, roughly four years ago when passing through Greenwood. Their friendship evolved into a business deal: Hill, whose business takes him from Maine to California, would store planes from the east side of the country at Henderson’s hangar. And if Hill needed an extra pilot, Henderson would be his man.
Their most recent catch was a Cessna jet flown in from Atlanta on Sunday.
“Ken’s got us in his mind like we’re going to be the next ‘Dog the Bounty Hunter,’” Henderson said. “I just help out when I can. It’s definitely better than sitting around Greenwood.”
A native of Yazoo City now living in Santa Barbara, Calif., Hill has been a plane dealer and pilot for more than 40 years. He got into the repo business when his banker asked him to help find a plane in Florida. After flying that one in, he was asked to locate a plane in Mexico.
“That’s how it started. Over the years, it’s just gradually grown out and expanded,” said Hill, who today has between 10 and 15 clients, mainly banks specializing in airplane loans.
Hill, a 67-year-old who for the most part works alone, claims he has never failed to haul in an aircraft he’s been asked to find. His persistence and success has earned him the nickname The Grim Reaper.
“Everyone has got a different excuse,” he said of people about to lose an aircraft. “But they all finally lead to the final day of reckoning, which is me coming to take their airplane.
“The reality is, the grim reaper is at the door.”
Before Hill gets involved, a plane’s owner has received at least three warning letters. “By the time I show up, it’s not a surprise,” he said.
After getting an assignment, Hill, using flight plans filed with the Federal Aviation Administration, will track a plane’s movements. After getting a grip on its whereabouts and arriving at the site, he tries to contact the plane’s owner. If payments can’t be set up, the process of repossession begins n a preflight inspection, a check of the weather and eventually lift-off.
The planes are taken to service centers, usually to either Santa Barbara or to Greenwood. After being situated, they are appraised and put up for sale for the bank.
On Monday, Henderson gave a tour of the nine planes Hill has parked at Cotton Belt Aviation. There was one from Athens, Ga. (“Probably owned by some alumni from the University of Georgia”); one from Atlanta; one from Sarasota, Fla.; one from Tampa, Fla.; and another from St. Louis (“I think this guy might have been involved in transporting some illegal substances”).
Henderson is paid $500 for every trip he takes, but he mainly enjoys the opportunity to fly aircraft equipped with top-of-the-line equipment.
Hill has high praise for his Greenwood comrade. “He’s an absolute impeccable pilot, an honest guy who is always ready for a job.”
Henderson returns the compliment, while noting Hill’s love of Southern cuisine. “He’ll fly in, go get his fried catfish from The Crystal Grill, and then he’s out of here. He’s from Mississippi; he’s a Delta boy. We get along just fine.”
The majority of people whose planes have been foreclosed on understand the situation, Hill said. He has empathy for the business people suffering because of the recession. He’s received letters from debtors thanking him for the professionalism and kindness he brings to a job.
After a recent article detailing Hill’s business appeared in the New York Times, someone from whom Hill repossessed an airplane called and said he shouldn’t be called The Grim Reaper. “He said my name should be The Grim Gentleman.”
Hill, though, does run into some dishonest characters.. “They’ll do anything they can do to try and keep (their plane),” he said.
He’s had people threaten to kill him or break “every bone in my body.” Once, in Tennessee, a woman chased him through a hangar with a yard rake.
The next round of repos begin at 4:30 a.m. Sunday. The target: four planes that have been foreclosed on in Florida.
Hill admitted he’s making more money as the economy flounders. He wouldn’t get into specifics about his compensation. “It’s not that lucrative, but I’m not going to complain.”
One thing is certain. No one will ever have to repossess an airplane from Hill. He doesn’t own one.
“Why would I own an airplane?” he said from his office in Santa Barbara. “I’ve got 35 sitting out here right now that I can fly any time I want to.”
