Airline's CEO arrested for child pornography

Robert Hedrick resurrected the Pan American Airways name, set up shop in the original Pan Am building at the Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport, and was working toward development of cargo operations in Brownsville and surrounding cities that — if they came to pass — would be a major economic boon to the region.

Now, with Hedrick jailed without bond and facing child pornography charges, all of it seems in danger of falling apart. Hedrick was arrested Monday at his Brownsville home following a federal investigation linking him to Internet distribution of multiple images containing child pornography. Whether PAA Inc. and Hedrick’s plan for linking Brownsville to global air cargo markets can survive is anybody’s guess.