Air Taxi Accident in Maldives

Crashed MAT aircraft was flying below approved altitudes - AICC report

June 12, 2009

The Maldivian Air Taxi (MAT) aircraft which crashed in to the lagoon of Halaveli on 2 June with seven people onboard was flying far below the approved flight altitudes stipulated in the airlines Operations Manual approved by Department of Civil Aviation (CAD), preliminary report of the Accident Investigation Coordinating Committee (AICC) has revealed.

AICCs preliminary report highlights three important factors that may have led to the incident. Firstly the Pilot in Command (PIC) was flying the aircraft below altitudes given in the airlines Operations Manual approved by CAD. Secondly when the aircraft was in landing phase, passenger was occupying the co- pilot seat, which is against the approved regulations set forth in Civil Aviation Regulations and thirdly no effective means was established by the operator to ensure amendments to the regulations, guidance and procedures are communicated to the crew in a timely and appropriate manner.

The report, produced after conducting necessary investigations including interviewing of flight crew and scrutinizing pertinent documents and inspection of the aircraft, provided several recommendations to CAD.

The aircraft, which crashed in to Halaveli lagoon with 4 foreign photographers and 3 crew members, is a De-Havilland Twin Otter manufactured in 1969. The aircraft operated under registration number 8Q MAG has totaled 33,685 hours.

According to the report, 8Q- MAG departed for a photo flight from Halaveli sometime between 0945 hours. The aircraft took off west bound and after leveling the aircraft, co- pilot gave up his seat to the camera men. The co- pilot remained at third row left seat from thereon until the aircraft crashed. The report also notes that aircraft made few orbits round the island at the initial leveled height, then descended to lower heights and made few more orbits for photography. When the passenger seated in the cabin wearing the headset informed PIC that they had taken all the pictures they wanted and he can land, PIC initiated procedure to land while keeping the passenger in the co-pilot seat. PIC had baked the aircraft right and before complete the turn , the right wing and or float hit the water and even though he attempted to level the aircraft, he lost control and the aircraft skidded on water. The accident had caused considerable damage to the aircraft; however, no one was injured.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Air
• Taxi
• Maldives
• air
• Accident

[mrpilot102]

Such a waste of a Twin-Otter..Guess that's what happens when you try buzzing.

[furadanvaru]

@timberzio i think news reporter thought "falhuverin" mean passenger.. hehehe

[timberzio]

btw whats the difference between crew and 'falhuverin' ?

[timberzio]

@faridz19888 ..both captain and co-pilot in good shape and good health.. still flying for MAT.. syonara my friend..

[poexxope]

Nice wreck dive though

[seanpintara]

@TRASUPO Or swim away from... lol.

[TRASUPO]

Any landing is a good landing that you can walk away from.

[thes4uce]

Well, if you must crash in water, that's the place to do it.

[faridz19888]

hahaha...say goodbye to the captain and co-pilot..sayonara my friend..

[axs12345]

n nnnaaaaa butli gaga budybudy gaga fenoki lili nehonia benoki WTFFFFF