KUALA LUMPUR: The Air Accidents Investigation Bureau (AAIB) found that the aircraft owner and operator of the ill-fated aircraft in the Elmina air crash had exploited regulatory grey areas and failed to obtain necessary approvals from local authorities.
The AAIB, in the final report on the crash, said the aircraft, the Beechcraft 390 Premier 1 (N28JV), registered in the US was only operating under the least restrictive safety compliance standards.
"It was not registered with any Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 121 or 135 operators, and as such fell within the operational confines of Part 91.
"CFR Part 91 limits compensation for air transportation to specific circumstances, primarily directing paying passengers to operators governed by stricter regulations such as CFR Part 121 (scheduled air carriers) and CFR Part 135 (commuter and on-demand operations)," the report said.
The report added that despite the US registration, the operator being a Malaysian entity requires compliance with Malaysian regulations.
However, the report said there is no indication that the aircraft's operator, Jet Valet Sdn Bhd has applied for the necessary approval from the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia for non-scheduled air services and the carriage of passengers for compensation in a foreign-registered aircraft, as mandated by current civil aviation policies and regulations.
"According to Malaysian policy on non-scheduled air services, local air operators must obtain an Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) from the CAAM, and foreign air operators must obtain a Foreign Air Operator's Certificate (FOAC) to provide commercial business flights.
"However, foreign air operators are not allowed to provide charter flight services and only considered on a case-by-case basis for other non-scheduled and on-demand flights," the report said.
As such, the aircraft operator appears to be exploiting regulatory grey areas, thereby avoiding stringent oversight and necessary approvals.
It also added that although the aircraft was intended for long-term operation in Malaysia, no evidence was found that the aircraft operator had applied for Malaysian registration of the aircraft as required under the Civil Aviation Regulations 2016 for foreign-registered aircraft operating in Malaysia for over six months.
In the Aug 17 incident last year, the six-seater aircraft crashed near Elmina, Shah Alam during its approach into Subang Airport from Langkawi.
The crash killed all eight people onboard along with two road users.