The Eke Government is considering approaching the king to set up a Royal Commission to investigate Lulutai Airlines’ controversial purchase of the new twin Otter aircraft in 2023.
It follows reports that the plane encountered multiple maintenance issues, and both of its engines are due to be replaced in two months. The aircraft was commissioned by the Crown Prince in November 2023.
The concerns emerged after Kaniva News previously reported that experts in civil aviation had serious concerns about the twin otter’s condition.
The Minister for Public Enterprises said this afternoon he has considered seeking the king’s consent for the Royal Commission after he discovered that the new aircraft’s two engines are due to be replaced in April this year.
“It costs millions”, he said during a media briefing.
Mr Piukala believed the due diligence process had not been thoroughly followed when purchasing the twin otter.
He described the situation as dangerous (“fakatu’utāmaki”).
He said the airline has three aircraft, but only the twin otter is still operating. Mr Piukala said that the plane has been repeatedly grounded for maintenance checks.
The Deputy Prime Minister joined Piukala during the media briefing and said the Director of Civil Aviation had grounded the twin otter on Tuesday due to a regulatory violation. He said the Lulutai completed the necessary requirements and it was allowed to resume service on Wednesday.
Computer sensor damage
As Kaniva reported previously, about four months after the twin otter arrived in Tonga, a computer sensor was damaged, causing the aircraft to be grounded.
The data sensor was part of the aircraft’s Air Data Attitude Heading And Reference System (ADAHRS).
Ousted chief executive Poasi Tei received public criticism after it was discovered that the new part was sent to Tonga in a passenger’s luggage. The luggage was held at Brisbane Airport for inspection after it appeared the part should not have been placed in the passenger’s cargo.
The outgoing government of Hu’akavameiliku previously said it paid US$6.25 million into two accounts with the Bank of America and the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank to purchase the new aircraft for Lulutai Airlines.
Former Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku, who was accused of providing misleading information in Parliament and failing to respond to MPs’ questions about the purchase of the aircraft, finally confirmed the purchase in August 2023.
We contacted Hu’akavameiliku for comment at the time.
Aircraft expert comments
As we reported at the time, Kaniva News contacted some experts in aircraft engineering and sales asking whether they had any knowledge about the twin otter.
Some who did not want to be identified, as they did not want to be seen as getting involved in the political side of this deal, said the aircraft was currently in China and had allegedly been grounded since 2018.
They said the five-year period of the aircraft’s inactivity from 2018 to 2023 should have been a concern for Tonga because aircraft parts had certain timeframes which require replacements when they were expired.
An expert said he was surprised after he learnt the money was paid in full while the aircraft was sitting in China.
He said that from his experience the payment should have been deposited part by part in a process in which Tonga should only deposit the last portions of payment when the aircraft arrived in the kingdom or departed China.
It is understood the aircraft was inspected as part of the purchase. However, it is believed the person who inspected the aircraft was sent by the aircraft agent.
“The interest of the agent is to sell the aircraft while at the same time Tonga should have done their own inspection to make sure the aircraft is safe according to New Zealand safety rules and requirements which apply in Tonga,” an expert said.
“Some parts of the aircraft are calendar time, meaning after two or three years they have to be replaced, no matter whether the aircraft is in operation or is being grounded”, the expert claimed.
He said Tonga should have been involved very closely with the inspection process to make sure it did not spend extra money to replace the parts once the aircraft arrived in Tonga.
“Tonga should know about this and should have asked the seller to replace such parts of the aircraft because the aircraft was not a brand new”.
Kaniva News contacted former Lulutai CEO for comment at the time.
