What the reporting leaves out
Lance strongly disputes OCCRP’s account and believes its presentation creates a misleading impression about his role in events after aircraft sales.
OCCRP reported that 11 of 30 aircraft it traced through companies associated with Lance were later seized, investigated, or found in suspected or confirmed drug cases. Lance disputes the article’s claims and inferences. He says he has sold hundreds of aircraft, many to corporations or trusts. In many such transactions, he says he did not personally know the people behind those entities or their underlying businesses, while an escrow company handled its own review of the buyer or registration entity. He says he had no control over who later purchased those aircraft, how often they changed hands, or what subsequent owners did with them.
Later events do not establish a seller’s knowledge
An aircraft can be resold after its initial transaction. Lance’s position is that actions of later owners cannot fairly be attributed to him simply because an aircraft once passed through a sale involving him. He says he often did not personally know the underlying owners or their businesses, even when an escrow company reviewed the purchasing entity and funds. The dates and parties in each chain of ownership matter. They should be examined aircraft by aircraft, using bills of sale and registration histories.
What the article itself says
OCCRP expressly stated that it found no evidence Lance knew customers planned to use aircraft to traffic drugs. Its article also says it found no evidence he knew one aircraft purchase was financed with cartel funds. The article raises questions about sales to anonymous entities, which Lance addresses here by describing both the escrow review and the limits of what he personally knew about underlying owners. Those qualifications matter when evaluating what the investigation actually established. Read OCCRP’s full report.
Lance disputes the article broadly. No transaction-specific correction is published here until supporting records are reviewed. A documented response can compare each disputed passage with transaction dates, buyers, later transfers, and other primary records before requesting a correction.
Aircraft transactions span many owners
Lance estimates he has sold hundreds of aircraft across jets, helicopters, and smaller aircraft. His response asks readers to look at each aircraft’s documented chain of ownership before drawing conclusions about later uses.
King Air 350 photograph · illustrative only; neither pictured aircraft is identified with the reporting.How Lance describes an aircraft sale
A buyer typically inspects the aircraft, negotiates terms, and closes through an escrow company before delivery.
The steps below reflect Lance’s account of transactions in which he is the owner or broker. Specific closing records show which steps occurred in a given sale.
01 · Inspection and due diligence
The buyer or buyer’s broker may send a maintenance professional to inspect the aircraft, review its condition and records, and report on work the aircraft needs before the buyer accepts it.
02 · Offer and agreement
Once the parties agree to proceed, they may use a letter of intent followed by a purchase and sale agreement. The parties select an escrow company, either through the buyer or the seller.
03 · Escrow review
Lance says the escrow company collects know-your-client information and performs checks on the buyer or the entity in whose name the aircraft will be registered. For an export sale, he says escrow also reviews incoming funds and their source. He describes this as part of managing transaction and trade-compliance risk. The scope and results of any particular review would need to be shown by that transaction’s records.
04 · Acceptance and delivery
The agreement determines whether the seller delivers the aircraft or the buyer sends a crew to collect it. Delivery receipts and acceptance documents record the handover.
Lance says escrow performs checks, while he may not personally learn the names of every person behind a corporate or trust buyer. The scope and results of a particular escrow review must be established from its closing records. Closing files could establish what happened in a specific transaction.
Addressing the record directly
Readers can compare Lance’s account with the published record.
The 2004 plea agreement
The U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General states that Lance pleaded guilty in March 2004 to aircraft fraud involving falsified engine logbooks. Its October 2004 notice reports a sentence of one month in prison, three months of home detention, three years of supervised release, and $185,000 in restitution. Read the DOT notice.
The later aircraft sales reporting
OCCRP reported that it reviewed 30 sales by companies associated with Lance since 2014 and found evidence that 11 aircraft were later seized, investigated, or found in suspected or confirmed drug cases. The investigation expressly said it found no evidence Lance knew buyers planned to use the aircraft to traffic drugs. He denied liability for what happened after the sales. Read the full investigation.
OCCRP’s figures describe aircraft it traced and later incidents it reported; they do not by themselves establish Lance’s knowledge or control over later owners. Lance disputes the article’s portrayal. A transaction-specific rebuttal requires the relevant records.
Lance’s perspective
“In 1996, I helped import aircraft from the Mexican government. We reconstructed the records and translated them from Spanish into English. To my knowledge, there were no problems with the aircraft and no customer complaints.”
Lance’s account, edited for clarity. The linked DOT notice records the plea and sentence.
“In 2002, I was arrested in San Diego on aircraft fraud charges. I did not understand what was happening at the time. I spent more than two years fighting the case in federal court. A couple of weeks before trial, I was offered a plea agreement. My understanding was that accepting it would allow me to keep my pilot’s license and move on with my life; going to trial carried the possibility of a much longer prison sentence, which I understood could be eight years. The case was confusing to me, and my attorney advised that the agreement was the best way forward. I accepted the plea agreement and moved on with my life.”
This describes Lance’s recollection and reasons for pleading guilty. The DOT notice above records the plea and sentence.
In the OCCRP report, Lance denied responsibility for how aircraft were used after sale. The report also states it found no evidence he knew customers planned to use the aircraft to traffic drugs. Source: OCCRP investigation.
Questions readers ask
These short answers distinguish the reporting, the public record, and Lance’s account. Updated September 24, 2026.
Who is Lance Zane Ricotta?
Lance Ricotta is a pilot and aircraft seller. He says he earned his pilot certificate in 1991 and has flown corporate aircraft, including Gulfstreams. Read his aviation background.
What did OCCRP report about aircraft he sold?
OCCRP said it identified 30 aircraft sales since 2014 by companies associated with Lance and reported that 11 aircraft were later seized, investigated, or found in suspected or confirmed drug cases. Those are OCCRP’s reported findings; Lance disputes the article’s portrayal and its claims. Read the investigation.
Did OCCRP find evidence that Lance knew buyers planned to traffic drugs?
No. OCCRP explicitly wrote that it found no evidence Lance knew his customers planned to use the aircraft for drug trafficking. Its article nonetheless raises questions about the sales and ownership structures. Read OCCRP’s wording.
What is Lance’s response to the later use of aircraft?
He says a seller does not control subsequent owners or how an aircraft is used after a completed sale. He disputes the article’s portrayal of his role and says each ownership chain should be examined using sale and registration records. Transaction-specific corrections will depend on those records.
How does Lance describe the sale process?
He describes buyer inspection, a letter of intent and purchase agreement, escrow review of the purchaser or registration entity and funds, and a documented acceptance and delivery. He says escrow handled checks that did not necessarily identify every underlying owner to him personally. See the full process.
What does the 2004 public record show?
The U.S. Department of Transportation OIG says Lance pleaded guilty in March 2004 to aircraft fraud involving falsified engine logbooks and records his October 2004 sentence. Lance gives his own account of why he accepted the plea agreement above. Read the DOT notice.
Read the source material
These links let readers examine the records behind the summaries above.
- U.S. Department of Transportation OIG, sentencing notice, October 13, 2004
- OCCRP, investigation into aircraft sales and subsequent uses
Aircraft photography: Gulfstream G550 by Edwin Leong and King Air 350 by Anna Zvereva, both CC BY-SA 2.0. Images displayed with responsive cropping.