What Can Be Done for Silver State Students?

Industry officials are wrestling with the question of what they can do to aid students devastated financially by the February collapse of Silver State Helicopters. The flight school giant reportedly had about 2,500 students on its rolls when it suddenly shut its doors Feb. 3 and went into U.S. Bankruptcy court seeking liquidation. It had forced those students to deal only with its lenders and to pay for training up front. The shutdown left many of the 2,500 on the hook for $70,000 loans taken out to pay for that training with little hope of landing a job to help pay that debt. Clearly, the collapse risks souring most of those students on the helicopter industry at a time when it is desperate for pilots. While industry leaders recognize the need to salvage the valuable resource that Silver State's victims comprise, they have yet to settle on a means of achieving that. For related news