For those in the market for a bargain jet, this could be your lucky day. Unless, that is, you believe in luck or are superstitious.
The Embraer Legacy 600, produced by Brazilian aerospace conglomerate Embraer S.A., is designed to compete on the upper end of the small to mid-sized range of business jets, with a unit cost in the neighborhood of $26 million and having as its biggest rivals Bombardier's Challenger 850 ($32 million) and Gulfstream Aerospace's Gulfstream III ($37 million).
Today AvBuyer.com, a site that markets aircrafts, is listing a Legacy 600 with only 12 landings and 36 flight hours with a sale price of $15.7 million -- or almost 40% cheaper than a new model.
But then, you can bet there's a reason for the drastic price drop, only in this case it's likely not just our wobbling economy. Namely, I'd imagine the bargain comes with the scars left by the jet's tragic history. On September 29 of 2006 it collided in mid-air with a Boeing 737 used on Gol Intelligent Airlines, Inc. flight 1907 during a delivery flight from the Embraer factory in southeast Brazil to its US buyer, Long Island-based Excel Aire, an air charter company.
All 154 passengers and crew aboard the Boeing 737 were killed, while the Embraer Legacy, despite sustaining serious damage to its left wing and tail, landed safely with its seven occupants uninjured. According to a report issued two years later by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), American officials who investigated the accident determined that even though all pilots acted properly, they were placed on a collision course for a variety of "individual and institutional" air traffic errors, a claim disputed by Brazilian authorities, who concluded that the accident was caused by errors committed both by air traffic controllers and by the American pilots aboard the Legacy 600.
Just a few weeks ago, Brazilian weekly newsmagazine Veja reported that the Legacy 600 was finally sold by Excel Aire last year, and the new owner paid for a full renovation with the aim to find a new buyer for the jet. Why? The reselling of pre-owned jets is big business right now, with depreciation values reaching as much as 30% on year of use, particularly in Brazil, where the private aviation market surged by 76% between 2008 and 2010 (according to the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC), the Brazilian civil aviation authority), totalling 652 private jets and helicopters legally registered within the agency. Still according to ANAC, the number of private aircraft in the country has already surpassed the commercial aviation fleet, which accounts for 619 airliners.
With a booming economy and a millionaire (and billionaire!) club growing at an unprecedented pace, Brazil's super rich are eager to own a jet of their own. The value of the Brazilian real against the dollar is also encouraging buyers.
As for the Legacy 600 currently up for sale -- who knows -- it could be a good deal. As long as the new owner is not superstitious.
