The Allure and Arithmetic of Distressed Aircraft

“In distressed aircraft, sophistication isn’t optional — it’s the barrier to entry.”

I’ve always loved aviation.

There’s something about lift, thrust, and precision that appeals to me. The engineering. The choreography of systems working together. Even outside of business, I log hours on a flight simulator program because flying is fun and focus. You can’t fake physics at 35,000 feet.

That’s probably why I’m so intrigued by distressed aircraft investing.

On the surface, aircraft represent freedom, speed, access. They compress geography and turn days into hours.

For successful operators and business owners, airplanes aren’t status symbols — they’re productivity tools. They’re leverage on time.

But distressed aircraft? That’s where the romance meets reality.

Aircraft fall into distress for reasons that feel familiar to anyone who’s spent time in specialty assets: overleveraging, miscalculated operating costs, deferred maintenance, market shifts, changing business needs.

The numbers move.

The assumptions break.

Suddenly an asset that once represented efficiency becomes a balance sheet problem.

And unlike real estate, you can’t simply “hold and wait.”Maintenance schedules don’t pause. Regulatory compliance doesn’t negotiate. Refurbishment costs can exceed the market value of the plane itself. 

In aviation, complexity compounds quickly and it’s expensive.

What fascinates me about distressed aircraft investing isn’t the glamour. It’s the discipline.

There are very few true specialists in this market globally. Transactions hinge on trust, relationships, and information asymmetry.

You’re not browsing listings. You’re navigating a tight network where experience determines whether you’re buying opportunity or inheriting someone else’s mistake.

That’s what makes it compelling.

This is a market that rewards operators who understand utility over optics. The right aircraft, priced correctly, with the right cost basis and structure, can create meaningful value. 

But the margin for error is thin. The cost to bring a distressed aircraft back into usable condition can erase your upside before you ever taxi to the runway.

And that’s why enthusiasm alone doesn’t work here. You need market intelligence. You need sober underwriting. You need to price risk honestly.

When I look at this niche, I see what I see in every complex asset class: opportunity for those who understand it, and danger for those who don’t.

If you’re curious about how this small, highly specialized corner of alternative investing really works, and why trust and expertise are the true currency in these transactions, Dave Coleman – one of only about thirty individuals worldwide in this exclusive network of professionals – bared all in this episode of Debt Doctor.

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Catch you in my next insights,

 – Bill Bymel, Debt Doctor

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