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Damaged computer sensor identified as cause of Twin Otter grounding; Lulutai CEO says airline looks for quickest way to import parts

By
Kalino Latu
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Lulutai airlines’ Twin Otter was grounded by damage to a computer sensor, Kaniva News can reveal.

ADAHRS was purchased from  Honeywell International Inc in Olathe, Kansas, USA

The data sensor was part of the aircraft’s  Air Data Attitude Heading And Reference System (ADAHRS).

The recently acquired Twin Otter was grounded recently without the airline specifying the issue.

The new part arrived in Tonga on Friday night a day after the passenger luggage in which it was packed was withheld in Brisbane airport for re-assessment. 

The Twin Otter was fixed on Saturday and returned to services the same day.

As Kaniva News reported recently, when Lulutai buys parts for its aircraft overseas it asks passengers at airports if anybody is available to carry them to Tonga.

The report caused outrage, but Lulutai chief executive Poasi Tei defended the practice.

“With the work we do, even when importing parts for an aircraft we look for the quickest way because of nation’s needs for flight services,” Tei said.

Asked why Lulutai did not pay to send the item as air cargo, he said the airline asked passengers at the airport to carry parts because this was quicker than using the air cargo services.

We asked Tei whether Lulutai airline could not afford to use air cargo costs and whether it was facing financial difficulties. However, he dismissed this, saying it had nothing to do with the costs.

A source has told Kaniva News that the passengers who carried the part were concerned they might be held liable if anything went wrong while the new part was in their possession, so they took pictures of the parcel.

Questions were also raised about whether the Twin Otter was bought with a warranty which obliged the manufacturer to pay for any defects or damage as well as labour services for maintenance. We have asked the Lulutai chief executive to comment on this.

Documents seen by Kaniva News appeared to show the ADAHRS was purchased from  Honeywell International Inc in Olathe, Kansas, USA.  

Honeywell makes aerospace and automotive products as well as engineered materials.

The processor is sometimes referred to as MARG (Magnetic, Angular Rate and Gravity). AHRS are designed to replace traditional mechanical gyroscopic flight instruments.

Failure of the AHRS may cause loss of the stabilised magnetic heading information.

It is unclear whether the part on the Lulutai aircraft that failed was sent to the Honeywell for repair or whether a replacement part was purchased.

Kaniva News has been unable to confirm the cost of the part and the costs related to its installation.

Practise criticised

The revelation about Lulutai aircraft parts passenger carry-on practice had triggered criticism  on social media.  Critics described the Lulutai practice as “precarious.”

We were reliably told that the passengers who were asked to carry the new part to Tonga were worried about what was inside the parcel so they asked the women who brought it to them to open it so they could check for themselves.

People who are familiar with aircraft cargo told Kaniva News it was unsafe for people not familiar with aircraft parts to touch or open it on their own without knowing how delicate and fragile the part was.

They said delivery of aircraft parts was of paramount importance to international airlines and there were several options available for customers like Lulutai to choose from to make sure their parts reached their destination as soon as possible.

This including using the rush Aircraft On Ground(AOG) logistics label. This was meant for the rapid transportation and delivery of essential parts or services to grounded aircraft due to technical reasons.

Another source said Honeywell should have an international airline delivery service which allowed it to deliver the part directly to the airline without Lulutai having to find a passenger.

As Kaniva News reported previously, the Prime Minister, who is the chairman of the Lulutai board of directors, asked during a live press conference last month whether a passenger coming from China to Tonga could carry a new part for the Harbin Y-12 aircraft.

As we reported last week, the passengers who carried the Lulutai part, a father and daughter, arrived in Tonga and discovered that the piece in which the part was packed was allegedly missing. Kaniva News contacted the daughter and asked about the missing piece. She did not deny it, but declined to comment and hung up the video call messenger.

Our source claimed the passengers had been advised to submit a missing report of the piece so that Fiji Airways could trace the luggage.

As we reported previously, Lulutai chief executive Poasi Tei denied the part was lost and gave us a different explanation for what had happened.

He said the part was given to the passengers to bring with them to Tonga on the night in question, but they did not come with it.

He later told his Facebook followers in an apparent response to Kaniva News’ article that the part was removed in Brisbane to be “re-screened,” causing it to miss the flight.

Tongan court refuses ‘to strike out’ claims against gov’t’s link to $130,500 loan vehicle securities fraud

By
Kaniva Staff
-

Tonga’s Supreme Court has declined to strike out claims the government brought in relation to a Ministry of Transport staffer who was at the centre of  a fake vehicle re-registration scam case.  

The second to sixth defendants

Sosefo Ponitini, a warranty officer working at the government’s Ministry of Transport had been accused of  falsely re-registering rental vehicles in the names of five vehicle hirers, namely the second defendant – Makeleta ‘Otani Kula, the third defendant – Maile Lesisita, the fourth defendant – Mele Siale, the fifth  defendant – Falesiu Lama and the sixth defendant – Loisi Paea ‘i Vahanoa Kalaivi.  

The scheme was faked to falsely show the five defendants were the owners of those vehicles and to enable them to use the vehicles as securities to secure various loans amounting to a total of $130,500 from ATL Finance exclusive of the $26,100.00 interest those loans were due to incur.

Ponitoni has been linked to the case as an agent of the first defendant, the government of Tonga.

Defaults on the loans led ATL owner Halahuni Langi to take enforcement action and discovered the motor vehicles were not in possession of the defendants.

Langi alleged the government operated the fraudulent scheme.  

The government argued that the legal action should have not been brought to court in the first place because the five-year period allowed by the law to deal with such a case had passed.

It also argued that the government “is not vicariously liable” since Ponitoni was acting on his own and he acted outside the scope of his employment.

Justice Cooper did not buy it.

Ponitini allegedly collaborated with the other defendants to this end, the court document said.

It is effectively alleged he was an agent of the first defendant and in acting in the scope of his agency provided the false Certificates of Registration of motor vehicles the co-defendants relied on, it also said.  

The application on behalf of the First Defendant to Strike Out the action the Plaintiff brought against him pursuant to Order 8, Rule 8 Supreme Court Rules (the Application), was filed 27 March 2023.

In his decision, Mr Cooper said:

“I am unpersuaded I have the requisite material to form a clear view in the event of a finding of joint liability between the Defendants and the effect on the time limit for the purposes of section 16 Supreme Court Act.  

“Prima facie there is an arguable case that Mr. Pontini was the agent of the first Defendant at the relevant time and so liability may fall upon him as principal.

“Therefore, I decline to strike out the claim as against the First Defendant.

“The First Defendant to pay the Plaintiffs costs of and incidental to the hearing, such costs to be taxed if not otherwise agreed within 14 days”.

Pregnant mum jailed for embezzlement of $47,521 from Tonga Power

By
Kaniva Staff
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A pregnant mother-of-one has been sent to prison for embezzlement of her employer’s fund.

Tupou Seluini Tahilanu

Tupou Seluini Tahilanu, 28, was working at Tonga Power Ltd’s office in Tofoa from February to April 2022 when she stole $47,521.68.

She pleaded guilty on 15 September 2023 to the single count of embezzlement.

Her jobs included collecting payments from Tonga Power’s customers and depositing them into the company’s bank accounts.  

She dishonestly took some of the money from two payments made by two supermarkets in 2022.

Tahilanu had paid back $32,000 while the company’s insurer paid them $45,021.68.

The court was told she deeply regretted what happened and was remorseful.  

She was married with a two-year-old son and was expecting their second child.  A probation report recommended  fully suspending her sentence.

However, Justice Cooper said imprisonment was unavoidable and he sentenced her to 18-months’ imprisonment with the final six-months suspended for two-years on conditions.

He ordered that Tahilanu must not carry out any form of hard labour due to her pregnancy.

“Within 48 hours of her admission to prison she is to be taken to Vaini Hospital to be assessed by in the ante natal clinic.

In addition, the Governor of HM Prison at Hu’atolitoli, within seven-days thereafter, is to be provided with a medical assessment as to how she is to be best cared for and a full series of follow up appointments arranged.”

“We feel abandoned.” Heavy rain worsens misery of Atatā refugees still living in tents

By
Philip Cass
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Heavy rain has worsened the misery of displaced families displaced by the ‘Atatā  tsunami.

The Tongan weather service has issued  warnings for heavy rain, flash flooding, strong winds on land and sea and operating small craft.

Kaniva News has been reliably told that tents have been flooded.

Residents living in tents had to be evacuated and find shelter with neighbours or move in with relatives from other villages.

Photos shared with Kaniva News show tents had been flooded.

We have contacted the Ministry of Infrastructure for comment and are waiting for a response.

Atatā was devastated by the tsunami that followed the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai volcanic eruption on January 8, 2022. According to some reports, the island was submerged  by the tsunami.

The United Nations said that more than 70 buildings were damaged and the whole island was covered by ash from the erupting volcano.

The islanders were eventually relocated to a site near Nuku’alofa that has become known as ‘Atatā  Jnr.

Now, two years after the disaster,  the Australian Broadcasting Corporation has released a report on refugees from the ‘Atatā. Former residents said they were told by government representatives it was unsafe to live on the Island.

According to the ABC, nobody has rebuilt on Atata and it remains abandoned except for former residents visiting for fishing or brief stopovers, it remains abandoned.

Some refugees from the island were allocated newly built homes, but others are still living in tents.

In the ABC report, people living in tents say they feel abandoned and that they either suffer from very hot temperatures in the tents or from rain which soaks the floors.

Now they have suffered flooding from days of heavy rain.

They say they have not been told anything about accommodation or whether they will be built homes.

Overseas donations were meant to build 268 new homes, but so far only 120 have been built.

Minister for Infrastructure Sevenitini Toumoʻua told the ABC a combination of a skills shortage and land issues had contributed to the delays.

“We’ve had some challenges along the way,” he says. “But we’re expecting works to be completed by June.”  

For more information:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-16/lost-villages-of-tonga-after-volcano-tsunami/103228574

Magnitude 6.4 earthquake shakes Tonga islands

By
Kaniva Staff
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Tonga island groups have been shaken by a strong earthquake this morning at 11.14am.

There is no tsunami warning.

The 6.4 magnitude quake hit at a depth of 216km about 125.9km north west of Fangale’ounga, Ha’apai, 126.4km west south west of Neiafu, Vava’u and 244.6km north of Nuku’alofa.  

Vava’u and Tongatapu residents reported feeling shakes in the areas nearby, Neiafu and Nuku’alofa.

The morning quake comes after a 5.8 magnitude earthquake, felt in Nuku’alofa at 5.49 pm yesterday, 18 January 2024.

“Based on preliminary earthquake information, tide gauge readings and advice from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC), a small tsunami wave is not likely to pose a threat to Tonga. However, unusual sea currents will be experienced along the coasts,” Tonga Met stated in an advisory issued at 6:05pm”.

Part for Twin Otter fails to arrive, but Tei says Lulutai hopes to have it by tomorrow morning

By
Kalino Latu
-

A new part for the Lulutai airline’s Twin Otter did not arrive as expected last night, sources have told Kaniva News.

Poasi Tei

Lulutai airlines’ recently purchased TP13 million 18-seater aircraft has been grounded for maintenance for an unspecified issue since last week, a month after it made its debut.

It is understood that the part was supposed to be carried to Tonga by a passenger on a flight from Fiji.

Last month Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku, who is also the chairman of the Lulutai board of directors, asked during a live press conference that if a passenger coming from China to Tonga could carry on a new part for the Harbin Y-12 aircraft, to let him know.

As we reported previously the Harbin-Y12 plane was fixed earlier this month before it  experienced a mechanical failure yesterday morning, causing some passengers from Vava’u to miss their connecting flights to New Zealand.

A source who asked not to be identified claimed Lulutai staff members arrived at the Fua’amotu International Aiport’s arrival check-out last night (January 17) expecting to collect  the part for the Twin Otter from a passenger on Fiji Airways flight FJ213 from Nadi.

However, they discovered that the luggage in which the part was packed had not arrived.

A missing baggage report was submitted, the source claimed.

He said it could be that the part was detected when baggage was screened as it was processed in Brisbane or Nadi.

“If that is the case, it might be that the part was not declared in the traveller’s declaration form or the scanner had flagged it as a dangerous item”, the source said. 

Our source claimed the part was given to a couple who were paid to carry the item.

The airline is currently tracing the baggage and it will take time depending on the condition of the part and how it aligns with IATA requirements, the source said.

Fiji Airways could not be reached for comment.

However, Lulutai CEO Poasi Tei gave us a different explanation for what had happened. 

He said the part was given to a passenger to bring with him to Tonga last night, but he did not come with it.

He said they were now working to send it to Tonga tomorrow morning. He did not say why the passenger did not bring the part with him.

Asked why Lulutai did not pay to send the item as air cargo, he said the airline used to ask passengers at the airport to carry parts for the aircrafts because this was quicker than using the air cargo flights. 

We asked Tei whether Lulutai airline could not afford to use air cargo costs and whether it was facing financial difficulties. However, he dismissed this, saying it had nothing to do with the costs.

“With the work we do, even when importing parts for an aircraft we look for the quickest way because of nation’s needs for flight services,” Tei said.

It is understood Qantas has direct flight from Sydney on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Air New Zealand has daily flights between Tonga and New Zealand as well as Fiji Airways’ daily cargo flights.

The source said there was no reason to claim that sending the part with a passenger was quicker than the air cargo and described the practice as “precarious.”

He claimed there were safety concerns and said if the part was lost the taxpayers would have to pay for it.

Kaniva comment

Lulutai airline’s apparent policy of looking for passengers at the airport to carry its aircraft parts to Tonga could best be described as precarious. It also raises issues of safety and who would pay for the part if it was lost. For the Prime Minister to have asked publicly if somebody might be travelling from China to Tonga so they could bring a part for the Y-12 raises the question of whether the government really has the resources to run the airline.

Body found hanging from tree in eastern Nuku‘alofa

By
Kaniva Staff
-

A man’s body was allegedly found hanging from a casuarina tree at Pātangata.

Sione Fehoko. Photo/Supplied

Sione Hoko was found dead in the tree yesterday, a source closes to his family told Kaniva News.

The grim discovery was made by some local children before police were called to the scene.

His body was retrieved before it was taken to the hospital.

Hoko is survived by his wife and their two children.

Police could not be reached for comment.

The news comes after the death of a young surgeon Dr. Colin Howard Manu Latu on November 5 in what has been allegedly described by local media as suspected suicide.

Kaniva News was unable to confirm Latu’s cause of death.

Openness, transparency and new thinking are the only way forward for Tonga’s air services

By
Kalino Latu and Philip Cass
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KANIVA COMMENTARY: Last night we said that the Tongan government needs to be absolutely transparent about the operations of Lulutai airlines.

PM Hu’akavameiliku

This followed yet another round of concerns about the airlines’ operations after its recently acquired Twin Otter was grounded with unspecified problems.

We said in our last story that the Prime Minister and the CEO have a responsibility to be honest with the Tongan travelling public, to tourists and to the Australian government which has bailed out the airline through its generous financial assistance.

If they were, it might make it easier for everybody concerned. If the problem with the Twin Otter is minor, then people  need to know. If it is major, people  need to know. If there is a problem, no matter how big or small, then  the people need to know.

That way passengers and the public might stop speculating and  circulating rumours that will damage the airline’ reputation.

Now Lulutai has faced yet another crisis. According to reports, its Harbin Y12 plane broke down this morning, Wednesday 17, and two of its five scheduled flights were cancelled. It was finally fixed and was able  to fly at 1.40pm in the afternoon, according to our source. Reports said passengers from Vava’u who had connecting flights were late to get their Air New Zealand flights this morning.  

It is about time for the government to seriously rethink the way it runs the airline.

The Prime Minister is the Chair of the Lulutai board with Cabinet Ministers including Deputy Prime Minister Samiu Vaipulu and Civil Aviation Minister Sevenitiini Toumo’ua. They are the directors in the company. Regardless of the fact that the Prime Minister keeps telling Parliament that the government does not own Lulutai, the buck stops with him.

Poasi Tei

As we have said many times, the government  needs to learn to communicate. It could take the simple step of setting up a professional  communication service on its website by just downloading free plugins and closely engage with its passengers on its social media accounts.

Why is this so hard? Why does the management of the airline appear to lack the most basic problems solving skills and the will power to fix problems which have plagued the airline for the past three years?

The real question that needs to be considered is whether the government should be in the airline business at all. Tonga has a history of airlines that have staggered into the air and crashed in financial distress. Government interference has usually only made this worse.

The Prime Minister has already admitted that without massive Australian financial support, Lulutai would not have the Twin Otter. Is there any realistic chance of  airline services continuing without a continued flow of dollars from Canberra? And how long would the Australian government tolerate such a situation?

Experts have said that Tonga is simply too small a market for any airline to make a profit. If that is the case, then radical re-thinking may be needed. The Tongan Government may have to admit that it cannot and should not run Lulutai and step right away from  the airline business.

It may have to bring back the previous airline operators and ask them to form a consortium that will run the airline properly as a business. However, it may also have to be realistic and find ways to keep the Australian subsidy going.  Australia’s Department of Foreign affairs is not a charity, but it may support a Tongan airline if it had a stake in the business as a shareholder, either directly or through a partnership with an Australian or New Zealand airline.

Tonga needs a viable airline service, not just to keep its internal economy going and to keep people connected, but to support the tourist industry which brings in much  needed revenue.

The Tongan government needs to think seriously about the future of Lulutai airline and to consider all of its options. Firstly, however, it needs to begin communicating clearly, consistently and honestly with the public and passengers.

Expert weighs in as parts problem said to be keeping Lulutai Twin Otter grounded

By
Kalino Latu
-

Lulutai airlines’ newly purchased Twin Otter is still sitting in the hangar this evening Tuesday 16 after delays in getting a part from overseas.

n 2022, Tonga experienced the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai natural disaster, where Lulutai cancelled all flights to for safety reasons. Photo: Facebook.com/PM Press

An expert said the problem should be of concern to the aircraft’s long-term service.

Passengers booked to fly on the 18-seater plane from the outer islands to main island Tongatapu last week were told to stay in touch. Others have had to take inter-island ferries instead after the plane was grounded on Wednesday, January 10.

As Kaniva News reported at the time, several complaints about the aircraft’s flight cancellations and lack of public notice and responses from Lulutai have been shared on social media, including Kaniva News. 

The outrage was part of an ongoing backlash against the kingdom’s domestic flight services which kept popping up amidst years of flight delays, unexpected cancellations and poor communication from the Lulutai  airlines.

The Twin Otter is grounded because it needs a part, a reliable source told Kaniva News.

READ MORE:

We contacted the airline’s chief executive Poasi Tei today to confirm whether the Twin Otter was still being grounded awaiting a part.  

We asked him to tell us which part in the aircraft that needed replacement, why it had to be repaired and how much it cost.

We also asked him to tell us when the aircraft was expected to fly again.

Seemed too early

An aircraft expert, who asked not to be identified, said it seemed too early for a mechanical fault to develop since the Twin Otter only started flying last month. He said parts were expensive.

Maintaining its current heavy flight schedule would not help in the long run, the expert said. According to Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku the aircraft has been flying up to 16 hours a day.

The Australian government has provided funds to support the aircraft’s operations and train engineers.

The Prime Minister previously said without Australia’s “financial and technical support”, the Lulutai airline would not have been able to purchase the Twin Otter.

The expert previously said before the Twin Otter was purchased late last year it was grounded in China since 2018.

He 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 required replacements when they were expired. The Twin Otter was flown to Wagga Wagga in Australia to prepare it for service before being flown to Tonga.

Lulutai airline has three aircraft. The Saab 340 crashed into a cement block last month after it was forced to return from Vava’u due to a hydraulic failure issue.

Its Harbin Y-12 is the only aircraft currently serviceable. It was grounded after it veered off the runway during its take-off run on ‘Eua island in July last year. It was later hit by a tow tractor at the Fua’amotu domestic airport.

It has been reported that part of the purchase of the Twin Otter included a loan of about TP$14 million from Tonga’s National Retirement Fund. The Prime Minister had been accused of failing to confirm the loan in Parliament. We previously contacted Hon. Hu’akavameiliku, who is also the chairman of the Lulutai board of directors, for comment.

Subject of controversy

The aircraft has been a point of controversy since Kaniva News broke the news about its purchase last year. The news caused an uproar in Parliament, with MPs from the people’s bench calling on the Prime Minister to cancel the purchase while the Nobles urged the Prime Minister to confirm whether the purchase was true.

The opposition argued that the government should have released the air service to a private company, one of the things the king mentioned when he blasted the former government for its lack of accountability.

Kaniva News has been reliably told the airlines is operated at huge loss. One source, who asked not to be identified, claimed to us last year that the government had spent more that TP$18 million so far on the airlines after it replaced the Real Tonga Airlines in 2020.

The Tongan government had put TP$10.1 million in its budget 2022/2023  and $3.3 million in its 2023/2024 government budget towards loan guarantees for Lulutai airlines’ maintenance services despite the Prime Minister repeatedly telling the House the government did not own the airline.

Patrick Tuipulotu hungry for All Blacks recall

By
Kaniva Staff
-

By Jonty Dine, Sports Reporter of rnz.co.nz and is republished with permission

Patrick Tuipulotu wants his All Blacks jersey back.

The door to a recall for the 43-test lock is wide open following the departures of stalwarts Sam Whitelock and Brodie Retalick.

Tuipulotu said he was determined to highlight his worth to new coach Scott Robertson after an injury plagued 2023.

“You look at the calibre of guys who have left, there are two pretty senior locks who have left vacant spots so I definitely want to put my hand up for one of those.

“During that Super Rugby season I was just starting to hit some form, and then to have that broken arm at a crucial time pretty much hindered my year so ready to hit this pre-season running.”

Tuipulotu will lead the Blues in 2024 with coach Vern Cotter naming the former All Black as his captain, replacing Dalton Papali’i.

He said captaincy was not a role he took lightly.

“I guess it’s not new for me, but pretty proud. I’m a Blues man through and through so to be given the captain’s armband, it’s a privilege, an honour and I look forward to leading the team out.

With his partner Phoenix Karaka recently named captain of the Silver Ferns, Tuipolotu is able to talk leadership strategies at home.

Phoenix Karaka of the Mystics

Tuipulotu partner Phoenix Karaka. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

“A lot of it is around off field behaviour and how to people manage really. I think we have both found getting everyone to work towards a common goal is quite hard, you have different personalities, ages and backgrounds so that’s one of the challenges we speak about the most, we definitely lean on each other, probably me more onto her.”

Tuipulotu regains the leadership from All Blacks flanker Dalton Papali’i, who has led the side for the last two campaigns.

He said there was no ill-will between he and Papali’i, who remained a leader in the squad.

“We are good mates, I trust him and have his backing. The calibre of leaders in terms of having Dalts there as well, nothing changes except for a few subtleties off the field.”

Cotter, known for his no nonsense approach to rugby, said Tuipulotu’s leadership style was appealing.

“He’s fairly clearly the leader of this group, and just felt it was the right move. Patty’s notion of leading is sharing, so for me it ticked all the boxes, it was a pretty easy choice really.”

Cotter said Papali’i was accepting of the change.

“He felt he was only in a caretaker role, he knows he can help and his experience will make him better for the team.”

Cotter said Tuipulotu was a leader both on and off the field.

“He understands the game, what the community is and what the Blues are about.”

-RNZ

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