Students out thousands of dollars after Connecticut flight school closes

June 15, 2017 12:00 am • Last Updated: June 15, 2017 11:41 am

By Dave Collins, Associated Press

In this Wednesday, June 14, 2017 photo, Arslan Mamiliyev, who was training to become a commercial pilot at the American Flight Academy in Hartford, Conn., stands outside the building where the school was located. He and other international students are suing the school, saying they lost thousands of dollars and are being forced to leave the country after the school closed following two fatal plane crashes. Federal authorities are investigating the crashes and have seized records from the school. (AP Photo/Dave Collins)

HARTFORD — International students at a Connecticut flight school that closed after two fatal plane crashes say they're out thousands of dollars and are being forced to return to their home countries because their student visas were canceled.

Three students are suing the American Flight Academy. They say they paid $28,000 to $39,000 apiece for commercial pilot training but were far short of the required training hours when the Hartford-based school closed abruptly in April.

The three are from Turkmenistan, Peru and Ecuador.

School owner Arian Prevalla has not returned messages seeking comment. The school's lawyer declined to comment Thursday.

Authorities are investigating the two crashes. A student was killed and Prevalla survived a wreck in East Hartford in October. Prevalla told authorities the student crashed the plane on purpose. Another student was killed in a crash in East Haven in February.

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