A dispute over damage to a high-speed plane at Martha’s Vineyard Airport has landed in a Boston federal court. 

Suite Six, a company managed by MV Propane owner John Rymes, is suing the airport commission and other entities, saying poor care of the airport’s asphalt resulted in a plane sustaining nearly $1.5 million in damages after falling into a sinkhole. 

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court, revolves around an incident in 2022. Mr. Rymes flew a TBM 940, a single-propeller plane that retails at about $4 million, to the airport from New Hampshire. The plane was too big to fit in Suite Six’s usual hangar and it was parked on asphalt outside the hangar. 

On Feb. 3, a few days after a snow storm, Mr. Rymes taxied the plane onto the apron tarmac in order to prepare for a take-off back to New Hampshire. Mr. Rymes had only taxied a few feet when the front wheel of the plane crashed into what the lawsuit describes as either a pothole or sinkhole.

The impact caused significant damage to the plane’s propeller, which also hit the asphalt, according to the lawsuit. 

The plane sustained nearly $300,000 in physical damages, but Suite Six also claimed the crash caused a nearly $900,000 drop in the market value of the plane, and an increase of about $225,000 in insurance premiums. 

In the lawsuit, filed against the airport commission, Martha’s Vineyard Aero Club and Martha’s Vineyard Aircraft Hangers, Inc, Suite Six claims negligent construction, maintenance and inspection of the asphalt led to the formation of potholes and sinkholes. 

Suite Six’s lawyer Steve Arnold declined to comment on the case Monday and Mr. Rymes did not respond to a request for comment left with his propane company. Airport director Geoff Freeman declined to comment, citing the pending litigation. 

Airport commissioner Bob Rosenbaum confirmed that Mr. Rymes’ plane was damaged due to a propeller strike outside the hangar and said the case partially hinges on if the plane was parked where it should be. 

“He seems to think it’s the airport’s fault,” Mr. Rosenbaum said, declining to get into further detail. “We will see where things wind up as a result.” 

Vineyard Aircraft Hangers, Inc., according to the lawsuit, provides aircraft storage and hangar services at the airport, and had an oral agreement to store Suite Six planes.  

Michael Nagle, a director at Vineyard Aircraft Hangers, said his understanding of the incident was that the plane was parked in an area where it wasn’t supposed to be, but referred questions to Wesley Pikor, who was managing the business. 

Mr. Pikor did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Suite Six is requesting the court grant $1.45 million in damages against the defendants, as well as attorney fees. A judge has been assigned to the case, but no hearings have yet been set, and the airport has not yet officially responded to the allegations in court.