Eclipse Gives In to Demand for Chapter 7 Filing

Late Tuesday, the final blow fell for Eclipse. In an e-mail to about 850 remaining employees, company executives Mark Borseth and Michael McConnell (CEO Roel Pieper's name was conspicuously absent) wrote that the board of directors would support creditors who have been urging a move from Chapter 11 bankruptcy to Chapter 7. Under Chapter 11, the company was trying to reorganize for sale; under Chapter 7, Eclipse's assets will be sold off and its creditors will receive whatever compensation is derived from those proceeds. The e-mail read, in part: "Despite the efforts of many people at EclipseJet Aviation and [parent company] ETIRC to obtain necessary funding to close the purchase of the assets of Eclipse Aviation, the closing of the sale transaction has stalled and our company is out of time and money." The hoped-for funding was expected to come from a Russian bank, at the urging of no less than Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, himself. Closing a long and controversial chapter in general aviation, the e-mail also said, "We gave it one heck of a try. We are sorry that it came to this today."