I finished up at ATA just after 9-11 and ended up out of aviation for a few years...nowhere to go with 400 hours and no CFI; especially at that time. I made more money in my old job anyway and therefore I eventually built up enough hours (500) to get a 135VFR job back in 2005. I have been pressing forward ever since and am now in the left seat at a great 135 company. Overall I am better off than I would have been had I made it in to AE prior to 9-11.

I was one of the lucky ones at ATA because I actually got to finish my training. Those crooks ran off with many tuitions paid in full from people just starting the training when they went bankrupt. They were accepting full tuitions until the night before they locked the doors without telling anyone. I hate to think about all of the people still out there that are paying for training that they never received. There was a class action lawsuit against the Williams family (owners), but I don't know what ever came out of it.