Maintenance standards plummet in private airlines

KARACHI – Private airlines are not adhering to the standards of maintenance as cannibalisation of parts (switching components from one machine to another) has become increasingly prevalent with the ratio now standing at 50 percent against the standard of 10 percent determined by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Poor maintenance standards pose a clear and present danger and could result in another catastrophic air disaster in the country as happened only recently due to poor maintenance and the sluggish response of the aviation authority to violations of its standards of maintenance for private airlines.
It has been learnt by Pakistan Today that one of the private airlines operating in the country, Shaheen Air, has been conducting its maintenance from Indonesia which is banned for its operators by the European Union due to its substandard maintenance practices. In addition to poor maintenance, Shaheen Air’s fleet is relatively old and out of their of total 12 planes only five are operational at the moment, while the remainder are unused due to their poor condition, sources informed.
Even those that are operational have a very poor maintenance record and pose a safety dilemma in the near future, sources asserted, adding that one of the airline’s pilots earlier resigned from Shaheen Air due to the poor standards of maintenance by the administration of the airline. The Air Worthiness department of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) must investigate the matter and must not allow substandard planes to continue to fly, sources added. Aviation sources informed that every plane needs maintenance after 200 hours of flying.
Similarly, Air Blue conducts the maintenance of its planes from Lebanon; where adequate standards of maintenance are not sustained, sources informed.
One very grave issue that haunts the airline and must be looked into immediately by the aviation authorities is incidence of cannibalisation of airframes which stands at 50 percent against the permitted 10 percent, sources informed. When contacted, Air Worthiness Director Ghulam Murtaza said Indonesia is banned only for the operators’ capacity, but not in maintenance organisations, while the cannibalisation is to be checked, whether they are exceeding the allowed percentage or not.
He added that around five aicraft of Shaheen Air are standing (the total size of the fleet is 12) for the purpose of cannibalisation, so we are to check whether the percentage of cannibalisation is exceeding from the standard limit or not. It is the ‘Check C’ that is being carried out outside the country on aircraft after 3,000 flying hours, while Check A is in the case of light maintenance that is being done by the operator here in Pakistan, he pointed out.
Heavy maintenance include Maintenance, Repair and Operations (MRO) is being conducted outside the country, but it is indicated that Shaheen Air will establish its own hanger in the country by the end of this year and they would begin their own maintenance operations in the country, he added. It is pertinent to mention that maintenance, repair, operations and overhaul entails repair of any sort of mechanical or electrical device should it become out of order or broken (known as repair, unscheduled or casualty maintenance).
Aviation experts on the other hand state that private airlines operate airliners on lease and this is the main reason why they have to conduct the maintenance from countries where their aircraft are registered by the companies who actually own the equipment. When contacted, Shaheen Air Vice Chairman Arshad Jalil was unwilling to comment on any issue regarding the maintenance standards of his organisation.
Similarly, both airlines are apparently not adhering to any procedure of ‘test bench’ during cannibalisation, sources said, adding that it is a procedure of testing parts before installation in another aircraft. One interesting fact that has emerged is that a CAA Flight Inspector, Captian Shafqat Mahmood, has been given a task of evaluating the maintenance levels of the Air Blue fleet but since he is also a pilot employed with Air Blue, it presents a significant case of conflict of interest.
There are significant questions posed by the Air Blue crash near Islamabad last year in which some 153 people died, and the report of the accident is yet to be made public. Another worrying case is the incident in which an aircraft of JS Air crashed in Karachi due to poor maintenance levels as it was flying with one faulty engine.