Vintage plane's dream flight grounded by lawsuit

A vintage airplane that's parked in Gander, N.L. is now the centre of a cross-country lawsuit.

Gander pilot Patrick White planned to mark the anniversary of the first transatlantic commercial flight last month by flying the63-year-old Canso Flying Boat from Botwood, in central Newfoundland, to Ireland.

Patrick White called off what he described as his "dream voyage" the day before takeoff, telling media the plane had mechanical difficulties and that he wanted to make the trip later in the summer. But now the trip may not happen at all.

Yellowknife-based Buffalo Airways,which loaned White the vintage plane for the trip, now wants it returned.

In court documents obtained by the CBC, the company says it allowed White to take the plane so he could fundraise for his voyage.

Buffalo Airways says it accepted $17,000 in cash and services in return for the loan of the plane, but a formal lease or purchase plan was never completed. Two weeks before White was due to leave Botwood, lawyers for Buffalo moved to collect the plane.

Lawyer Robert Stack represents White and a company that did mechanical work on the plane in Gander.

In a letter submitted to the courts, Stack writes that the company has a mechanics' lien on the plane and says that until the bill for labour and parts is paid, his clients have every right to keep the aircraft in Gander.

Stack declined an interview with CBC News, but he said Whitewould be taking his argument to court.