WE ARE RESOLVING ISSUES WITH AVIATION COMPANIES, SAYS SAS

PETALING JAYA: The beleaguered Systematic Aviation Services Sdn Bhd (SAS) says it is resolving issues with two aviation companies on the position of two aircraft it had leased to operate and maintain over the last few years.

In a statement posted on its website, SAS clarified a FMT report on July 20 which stated that Oriental Skyways Sdn Bhd had sent a representative and its lawyer together with a pilot to seize the Cessna 208EX with registration number 9M-ORS on July 17 and fly it to Seletar, Singapore.

It said the plane was only sent to be serviced by the manufacturer as it was still under warranty.

SAS said it is the appointed operator and maintenance organisation for the Textron Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft and that its role is to ensure the seaplane is operated and maintained to the highest standards of safety and compliance.

“We would like to clarify that the aircraft experienced a minor defect during one of its recent flights. As it is still under warranty, Oriental Sky and SAS decided to send it to the manufacturer’s service centre at Textron Singapore for further inspection.

“We would also like to highlight that the aircraft was not seized and also that this had nothing to do with any inability of SAS to perform maintenance on the aircraft in Subang,” it said.

SAS said all parties are doing their best to ensure the aircraft complies with the stringent regulatory requirements of the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM).

According to an aviation engineering source, Textron Singapore is not authorised to work on a Malaysia-registered aircraft if it does not have a one-off CAAM approval to repair the aircraft.

It is understood that efforts are being made by Oriental Sky to get this approval.

“Oriental Sky is pushing SAS hard to get the situation rectified as soon as possible as its business in certain island resorts it owns had been affected,” the source said.

FMT has reached out to the aircraft owner for comment.

Vector Aero dispute

Meanwhile, SAS said it filed a police report on July 18 against Vector Aero Sdn Bhd for not settling the payment due to the company for maintenance of its Diamond DA-42NG aircraft without authorisation.

The company said it had invoiced Vector Aero to settle its outstanding payments fully before it hands over the documents but the company took away the documents although it had not settled the dues.

“This is a clear contradiction of the agreement between the two companies. Despite some disputed charges between the parties, the amount remains unpaid,” it said. The amount in dispute is RM125,000.

In an email Vector Aero sent to SAS yesterday, it said the charges billed included jobs that were carried out without their express instructions.

“There were amendments done to documents and duplication of charges. These issues have not only caused us great concern but also raised doubts as to whether they were properly issued,” it said in the email sighted by FMT.

Vector Aero said until SAS verifies the invoices properly, it will not make any payment.

SAS is in a precarious position as CAAM’s suspension of its aircraft operation certificate (AOC) expires on July 31. The AOC can only be renewed if the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) issues the air services permit (ASP) to SAS which lapsed on Feb 29.

The aviation regulator did not renew the ASP after the company failed to pay staff salaries over the past year. It also failed to remit EPF and income tax deductions running into millions of ringgit.

2024-07-27T02:31:29Z dg43tfdfdgfd