The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) said it did not receive any “grounding order” from the manufacturer of the aircraft that crashed in Kapar on Tuesday.
Its CEO Norazman Mahmud also defended the Transport Ministry’s statement that the plane was airworthy when it was flying on the day.
“The aircraft had furnished us with a valid Certificate of Registration, Certificate of Airworthiness and Flying Licence.
“As such, approval was granted based on the valid documents required,” New Straits Times reported him as saying.
On Feb 13, two were killed when an aircraft nose-dived towards an oil palm plantation in Kapar, Klang.
The victims were pilot Daniel Yee Hsiang Khoon, 30, and his co-pilot Roshaan Singh Raina, 42.
Blackshape issued order on Oct 25
The plane was identified as a Blackshape’s Gabriel two-seat tandem aircraft, which belonged to the Air Adventure Flying Club based in Subang.
Yesterday, NST quoted manufacturer Blackshape as saying that a “no-fly order” for the plane was issued by the company on Oct 25, 2023.
“The aircraft was taken into the air, in flagrant and patent violation of a ‘grounding order’,” it said.
The Italian firm also claimed it had sent several reminders to the aircraft’s distributor.
“This absolute no-fly order originated from the impossibility of verifying the condition of use and maintenance of the aircraft,” Blackshape added.
It said that there was a lack of “verified information and reliable reporting” about the users' compliance with stringent aviation maintenance requirements and procedures.
On that note, Norazman explained that if such a “grounding order” was issued based on commercial reasons between the manufacturer and distributor, the authorities need not be informed about it.
“If it were for safety reasons, yes, manufacturers would inform their civil aviation authorities as they are responsible for the approval of the design and manufacturing of the aircraft.
“They must also notify the aircraft’s state of register,” he added.
He further explained that if the grounding was due to safety issues, the manufacturer should notify the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) - and the agency will instruct all States of Register who have the aircraft in their respective registry.
“Just like the Federal Aviation Administration as state of design for the Boeing 737 Max… they issued the Continued Airworthiness Notification to the International Community followed up by an Airworthiness Directive to all state of register, which includes Malaysia.”
Norazman said it was possible that EASA is not obligated to notify CAAM because Malaysia is not the state of register of the particular aircraft. - Mkini
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