By popular request: Here's the fake plane

Some of you have said you'd like to see the fake photo that Lou Pearlman alledgedly used to add credibility to his avaiation business. Here it is, courtesy of Alan Gross. Alan says he built the model of the plane, which was then photographed at the airport to make it look like a real plane. You don't see the tail because someone's had is holding it. Alan says he had nothing to do with the photograph and did not know that Lou was going to use his model in such a devious way.

[Photo credit: courtesy of Alan Gross]

Comments

[Bank of America]

I thought the plane was real when our executives saw the plane. Alex Sink was in charge of something wasn't she.

[i see a finger]

somewhere.

[de plane de plane]

thank you for that tattooo

"Call me in jail...I have a huge brand new fleet IPO just for you"

Great question, I was going to ask it myself but did now want taken as attack.

Aren't those the passengers from Lost looking out the windows?

This picture would need two people to take. One to hold the plane and one to take the picture. Who was the other person?

Pearlman preyed on good peoples inclination to see what they want to see, that photo is a great example.

Thanks Alan and Helen.

I'm no aviation expert, but I've been on enough flights and seen enough pictures of planes in my time, and I have to say the picture doesn't look credible b/c the angle of the ascent is just too steep. You can't get the plane that has just left the runway at that angle. The laws of physics make it impossible for a plane that size.

[Dr. Evil]

That is a nice plane. I want to invest my life savings. is it too late?????

[Joey]

This case just stinks more and more every day....stop playing games and give us our money!

[Alan Gross]

Allow me to add my own narrative to the photo. First and foremost this was taken 3 decades ago!!! I built models all of the time and this one was about to be decaled. I painted the top white and the bottom silver to match the Pan Am 747 portrayed on the box.

Lou said that he would like to have it and I had no clue of how the model was to be used so I gave it to him. The next time I saw the toy jet, it had the TransContinental logos that you see in the photo. A short time after that I saw the photos on Lou's desk. He had extras so he gave them to me.

Last year, the FBI agent investigating Lou's crimes contacted me. I was informed that there was a brochure with the dummy photos. That took me completely by surprise as I was under the impression that I was responsible for all promotional materials. I am proud to say that I was not. To this day I have not seen that brochure. However, I could care less about jets or any other aircraft as I was, and still am, totally into blimps.

I actually did see a real TransContinental prop plane at Dulles Airport in 1985 while working for Airship International Ltd. It was reigistered to a Company in Michigan. I have been far removed from Pearlman and his businesses and like all of you, I assumed that there were some jets that Lou owned.

By the way, it took me a while to notice that the photo was taken at LaGuardia Airport near the Marine Air Terminal which is a distance from the main airport terminals. 747's can't land at LaGuardia! Pearlman apparently counted on the fact that no one would pay attention to this minor detail.

It looks real. Where do I send my money?

[Grandma Caprio]

So the whole time you knew there was no planes Alan???