Pastor Rod Parsley's World Harvest Church Wrangling With Cincinnati Bank: Fifth Third Won't Take Back Church's $5.8 Million Jet

  

Stock Photo Of Gulfstream Jet

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The dispute has been flying under the radar.  World Harvest Church said it has paid off its five-year lease and wants to return a Gulfstream G-III private jet.  But the bank in Cincinnati doesn't seem to want the plane, which is listed with a $5.8 million lessor's cost.  A lawsuit filed in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court by the mega-church near Columbus says:  "Despite the church's return of the leased aircraft in full compliance with the terms of the Aircraft Lease Agreement, the Bank has arbitrarily, unreasonably, and in breach of the Aircraft Lease Agreement, refused to accept the return of the leased aircraft."

The church is located in Canal Winchester in Franklin County.  Senior Pastor Rod Parsley is an evangelist, television host and author.  He also has been involved in GOP politics and in 2008 endorsed John McCain's campaign for president.  He withdrew the endorsement after McCain rejected it and criticized Parsley for saying that Islam was a false religion that needed to be destroyed.  Court records show the church leased the plane in August 2005.  It put $900,000 down and made 59 monthly payments of $26,832.05.  That means World Harvest Church spent $2.48 million to lease the jet,  which has been based in a hangar at Rickenbacker Airport.  There is nothing in the court files that shows why the church needed the jet in the first place.  Parsley's church said it is spending substantial amounts of money to keep the Gulfstream jet in flying condition since the lease expired in August.  It wants a court order that would force the bank to take the plane off its hands:

"As a consequence of the Bank's breach of the Aircraft Lease Agreement, the Church has incurred and will continue to incur substantial monetary damages related to preserving and protecting the condition of the leased aircraft, including maintaining the aircraft in a flight ready status and current with the manfacturers' and FAA's standards of maintenance and other necessary and related expenses, all of which expenses are the Bank's obligations as the owner upon return of the leased aircraft . . ."

From Wikipedia, you can learn about Parsley.  The online encyclopedia also has the following information about Gulfstream G-III jets:

General characteristics

• Crew: Two or three
• Capacity: 19 passengers (standard seating)
• Length: 83 ft 1 in (25.32 m)
• Wingspan: 77 ft 10 in (23.72 m)
• Height: 24 ft 4½ in (7.43 m)
• Wing area: 934.6 sq ft (86.83 m²)
• Aspect ratio: 6.0:1
• Empty weight: 38,000 lb (17,236 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 69,700 lb (31,615 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× Rolls-Royce Spey RB.163 Mk 511-8 Turbofan, 11,400 lbf (50.7 kN) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 576 mph (501 knots, 928 km/h) (max cruise)
• Cruise speed: 508 mph (442 knots, 818 km/h) (long range cruise)
• Stall speed: 121 mph (105 knots, 194 km/h)
• Range: 4,200 mi (3,650 nmi, 6,760 km) (eight passengers, IFR reserves)
• Service ceiling: 45,000 ft (13,716 m)
• Rate of climb: 3,800 ft/min (19.3 m/s)