13 January 2026
N-registered aircraft held in trust with Southern Aircraft Consultancy Inc (SACI) have been grounded with immediate effect after the US Federal Aviation Administration ruled that their Certificates of Aircraft Registration are invalid.
The issue came to light after the Federal Aviation Administration formally notified SACI that it was not compliant with US citizenship requirements when submitting aircraft registration applications using Non-Citizen Trust (NCT) arrangements. As a result, the FAA has instructed the company to surrender all affected registration certificates.
The Civil Aviation Authority has confirmed that it was informed by the FAA that N-registered aircraft registered through Southern Aircraft Consultancy Inc using non-citizen trust agreements are considered to have invalid Certificates of Registration. That status removes the legal basis for flight, both in the UK and elsewhere.
For UK-based operators, the consequences are immediate. Aircraft affected by the ruling must not be flown until the registration issue is resolved. The CAA has also warned that the absence of a valid Certificate of Registration may invalidate mandatory aircraft insurance.
According to the FAA, SACI registered aircraft for both US citizens and foreign nationals using trust agreements. However, under US regulations, a company acting as trustee must itself be either a US citizen or a resident alien. The FAA concluded that SACI did not meet those requirements at the time registrations were submitted.
The FAA has given SACI 21 days from notification to surrender the affected registration certificates. In practical terms, this means the aircraft are grounded now, not at the end of that period.
Aircraft owners have limited options. To regain legal flying status, they must either:
While the FAA allows temporary authority to operate within the United States during re-registration, that authority does not extend to international operations. Owners intending to operate outside the US must submit a Declaration of International Operations to seek expedited processing — but even that does not provide an immediate right to fly abroad.
At this stage, the number of aircraft affected in the UK is unclear. SACI has been a well-known route for non-US owners seeking N-registration, particularly within European general aviation, so the potential impact could be significant.
FLYER is gathering more information and will update this story as the situation develops. Owners and operators of affected aircraft are strongly advised not to fly and to seek specialist advice before taking any action.
If you are wondering, yes our C182 is currently grounded as a result of this.
A statement has been sent by SAC to all clients containing the following information
Statement from Southern Aircraft Consultancy, 13 January 2026
We write with an urgent update, which we would ask that you read carefully. We have this evening received a letter from the FAA, which states that:
1. They have decided Southern Aircraft Consultancy is not classed as a US citizen, and is therefore no longer eligible to register aircraft.
2. all aircraft currently registered to Southern Aircraft Consultancy therefore need to be grounded with immediate effect, and not flown again until they are re-registered with the FAA.
3. all Certificates of Registration for aircraft registered to Southern Aircraft Consultancy should be returned to the FAA within 21 days.
This letter comes as a complete shock.
Firstly because the letter (issued this evening) states that all aircraft must be grounded from today’s date. This obviously gives no sensible timescale for anyone to effect the process of reregistering their aircraft as instructed, which is entirely unreasonable.
Secondly, and most importantly, because Southern Aircraft, to the best of our knowledge and based on previous legal advice, is compliant with the FAA’s regulations as to what constitutes a US Citizen who can register aircraft. The decision appears to have been made around the fact that the administration of all of the Trusts is carried out by staff based in the UK.
We will obviously be strongly challenging the FAA on this decision, and on the entirely unreasonable timescales for grounding the aircraft – and returning Certificates of Registration – that they have imposed. We are doing all that we can to ensure the least possible inconvenience is caused to you, our clients, and have our US and UK lawyers working urgently on a solution.
The absolute most important thing to us is to find a way forward that minimizes disruption and inconvenience to our clients. To this end, we are pursuing the transfer of the entire business to a US-based Trust Company. Doing this would mean that no clients would need to re-register their aircraft – the new Trust Company would simply become the new Trustee for all of our Trusts. We are also hoping to agree with the new Trust Company that they will honour all existing annual Trust fees already paid by our clients.
We would hope to have some news for you within the next few days. However, we will fully understand if this current uncertainty means that you don’t wish to wait, and instead wish to immediately dissolve your Trust with us. If you wish to do this, there is a formal process to follow.
This has been as much of a shock to us as it no doubt is to you. We will keep all of our clients apprised of any progress or developments.
Southern Aircraft Consultancy
