An insurer has allegedly denied a payout for the aircraft leased by Lulutai Airlines, which had crashed at Fua’amotu Airport in December 2023
The QBE Insurance reportedly maintained that the aircraft could be repaired and would only provide financial compensation if the repairs were carried out as a prerequisite.
The aircraft was heading to the terminal after reportedly experiencing an undesired landing before hitting a cement block on the side of the apron. Following this incident, the plane was rendered inoperative and could not resume normal flight operations.
The Director of the Monte Aircraft Leasing, Tom Frank, told Kaniva News they allegedly owned the Saab 340B aircraft.
He claimed QBE Insurance insured the aircraft since the commencement of the Lulutai lease in July 2020.
Frank said: “We believe that the aircraft is a constructive loss and Lulutai and Monte have been seeking a payout from QBE for most of this year.
“However QBE have refused the payout, claiming that the aircraft is repairable and only offering to pay only a small portion of the insured value.
He said this has caused a huge amount of damage to Tonga’s people, economy, and to Monte’s business.
“Lulutai and we are continuing to press QBE but more than 12 months after the incident there is still no resolution”.
We asked Frank how much Lulutai paid for the lease and whether the airlines is still paying the lease while the aircraft is inoperative. We also asked if we can get a copy of the lease agreement.
He said he could not release this information to us, citing confidentiality.
The revelations follow a recent report by Kaniva News, which raised questions about the aircraft’s insurance status.
The article asked whether the aircraft was indeed insured and, if so, why it had been taking approximately 12 months without any replacement being provided.
In this article, we said we had asked Lulutai CEO Poasi Tei for comment, but he has yet to respond.
The aircraft
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) were in Tongan early last year to assist the Civil Aviation Division’s Chief Investigator’s ongoing investigation of the accident involving the SAAB340 aircraft.
It follows with a report that the Minister for Infrastructure received an update on the status of the Preliminary Report.
As Kaniva News reported previously, the preliminary report showed several mechanical issues the aircraft had experienced, including hydraulic fuel loss and other safety problems.
The report also indicated signs that the aircraft’s flight recorder may have been deliberately disabled.
