Former Aircraft – By Sharon N Simon
Former Aircraft Tech Wants
The founder of a new aviation advisory firm believes the skills that built LIAT can still power the region’s future.
Edward Marcus Jarvis Fleming — a lawyer, pilot and former aircraft technician — is launching an initiative to train Caribbean youth in aviation, and he wants Antigua and Barbuda to be at the centre of it.
The founder of Jarvis Fleming Law and the newly established Edward Senior Aviation Advisors, made the announcement on Monday during an appearance on Observer AM. He said the firm, co-founded with his niece, Cajun Jarvis, aims to pool multi-disciplinary expertise to produce qualified aviators across the Caribbean and Africa.
Fleming, who spent five years as an aircraft technician with LIAT and later worked with Northwest Airlines before switching to law, said the region is sitting on untapped potential. He argued that the talent pool that once sustained LIAT — the now-defunct Antigua-based regional carrier — remains available and should be harnessed.
“A lot of training was lacking,” Fleming said, recalling his experience while trying to obtain an engineer’s licence after three years as a mechanic at LIAT. “There was just no help,” he said.
His new firm is designed to address exactly that gap by offering structured training, business education, and mentorship to young people seeking careers in aviation.
Fleming said he has already begun informal outreach at his church by taking young people on visits to the airport and plans to launch a bi-weekly boot camp — provisionally set for every second and fourth Saturday evening. He confirmed that talks are underway with Antiguan astronaut Keisha Schahaff; however, those discussions are at a very early stage.
The announcement came on the heels of two aviation milestones over the weekend.
Sunday marked the annual International Day of Human Space Flight, observed on April 12 each year to honour those who have contributed to space exploration. Fleming also referenced Friday’s Artemis II splashdown and highlighted the significance of NASA astronaut Victor J. Glover — whom he identified as Jamaican — as a model for Caribbean youth.
“If we have the individuals who are qualified to perform such services, it brings more jobs to the Caribbean,” Fleming said.
However, Antigua and Barbuda’s connection to that milestone was not lost on Fleming. He noted that the first women from the Caribbean to go to space were the mother-daughter duo — Antiguan and Barbudan nationals Keisha Schahaff and her 18-year-old daughter Anastasia Mayers who flew aboard Virgin Galactic’s Unity on August 10, 2023 — a fact he described as a powerful signal that the region belongs at the space table.
He added that any airline seeking to operate in the region should be expected to contribute meaningfully — through internships and community investment — rather than simply extracting profit.
Fleming, who also focuses his legal practice on elder care and immigration, said he sees the same principle across all his fields — talent without structure goes to waste. The Caribbean, he argued, can no longer afford to let that happen.
“If we act immediately and get good people involved,” he said, “Antigua and Barbuda will remain on the cutting edge.”
