Startup airline makes landing in bankruptcy

Jan. 11, 2002
West Coast Airlines flew high with dreams of connecting several Northern California cities with Las Vegas, Reno and San Diego. But after raising more than $1 million, the Concord-based company crashed into bankruptcy court.
While the terrorist actions of Sept. 11 played a factor in West Coast's failure to gain altitude, said President and CEO Ray Sherwood, the company never secured an airport from which to fly and it never acquired or leased a plane. In fact, it claims in a court filing that its former chairman received $125,000 in improper commissions over the past two years.
West Coast filed for bankruptcy Dec. 7 with $175 in a checking account, $80 in savings and $10 cash on hand.