FlightSafety expects to spend $162 million on 27 simulators in 2002, versus annual depreciation of $95 million.

Judge at end-2002 against the 2002 simulator spending and simulator count that Berkshire reported for FlightSafety. The $162 million and 27 simulators are point estimates. True: reported spending is within about 5% of $162 million (roughly $154–170 million) and about 27 simulators were acquired (±2), with spending far above annual depreciation of about $95 million. Mostly true: spending is within about 10% (and still well above depreciation), or the simulator count differs by a few. Mixed: spending is 10–25% off the forecast, or only one of the amount and count is close. Mostly false: spending is 25–50% off. False: spending is off by more than 50%, or did not exceed depreciation. The $95 million depreciation figure is a statement of fact: if the reported figure is materially different, mark the claim down one level.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 Berkshire Hathaway Inc. 2002 Annual Report Berkshire Hathaway Inc. · 2003 Own record

   “Flight services ................................................................... Retail ................................................................................. Scott Fetzer Companies .................................................... Shaw Industries ................................................................. Other businesses................................................................ Capital expenditures * 2002 2000 2001 Deprec. & amort. of tangible assets 2001 2002 2000 $ 31 18 — 4 53 51 158 48 241”

The only evidence, E1 (Berkshire's 2002 annual report), is a garbled extraction of a capital expenditures and depreciation table. Its segment labels, years and figures cannot be reliably matched, so no figure can be identified as FlightSafety's 2002 simulator spending. The quote gives no simulator count and does not confirm the $95 million depreciation figure. The evidence therefore does not settle the claim under the criteria.