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SANTA BARBARA -
It's rare to find Santa Barbara repo man Ken Hill in his office. Normally, he's high up in the sky that's because what Ken repossesses are airplanes!
Hill has logged 12,000 hours in the air over three decades, retrieving planes for the bank when the
owners can't pay. It's a serious business but Ken has kept his sense of humor.
He says flying is man's second greatest thrill in life and what's the first? "Landing," Ken says with a wry smile.
They call ken 'the grim reaper,' because he's the one who brings the bad news to plane owners nationwide.
And in this troubled economy, business is booming for the grim reaper of the skies.
Normally Hill repos 20-25 planes a year. This year he expects to top 100.
The planes Hill grabs back for the bank are valued at anywhere between $15,000 and $50 million.
He says 99 percent of his repos are owners who were using their planes for business.
Some cooperate with him...some don't. Ken repossessed an airplane very recently where the guy told him if he got near his airplane he was gonna break all Ken's bones, then he was gonna take the airplane down to Mexico and part it out.
Of course Hill has the law on his side...all the repossessing work he does is on behalf of the banks which are the rightful title holders of the aircraft. Ken even got some help when he repo-ed a $2 million Lear Jet that was illegally trafficking goods between Las Vegas and Mexico. For that 'day at the office,' Ken had had a court order, as well as the assistance of armed federal agents who helped Ken take possession of the airplane.
Hill has a web site for anyone who'd like to buy one of his repos the address is: www.busaircraft.com
The way Ken sees it, he's taking a toxic asset that the bank has that they can't do anything with which is not being productive, and he's turning it into cash. As he flies high in the skies, Ken says, "I am the Repo Man, catch me if you can, catch me if you can. You probably won't."
Hill has logged 12,000 hours in the air over three decades, retrieving planes for the bank when the
owners can't pay. It's a serious business but Ken has kept his sense of humor.
He says flying is man's second greatest thrill in life and what's the first? "Landing," Ken says with a wry smile.
They call ken 'the grim reaper,' because he's the one who brings the bad news to plane owners nationwide.
And in this troubled economy, business is booming for the grim reaper of the skies.
Normally Hill repos 20-25 planes a year. This year he expects to top 100.
The planes Hill grabs back for the bank are valued at anywhere between $15,000 and $50 million.
He says 99 percent of his repos are owners who were using their planes for business.
Some cooperate with him...some don't. Ken repossessed an airplane very recently where the guy told him if he got near his airplane he was gonna break all Ken's bones, then he was gonna take the airplane down to Mexico and part it out.
Of course Hill has the law on his side...all the repossessing work he does is on behalf of the banks which are the rightful title holders of the aircraft. Ken even got some help when he repo-ed a $2 million Lear Jet that was illegally trafficking goods between Las Vegas and Mexico. For that 'day at the office,' Ken had had a court order, as well as the assistance of armed federal agents who helped Ken take possession of the airplane.
Hill has a web site for anyone who'd like to buy one of his repos the address is: www.busaircraft.com
The way Ken sees it, he's taking a toxic asset that the bank has that they can't do anything with which is not being productive, and he's turning it into cash. As he flies high in the skies, Ken says, "I am the Repo Man, catch me if you can, catch me if you can. You probably won't."
