Myanmar grounds MA-60 aircraft after crashes
Guest Writers are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the specific writer directly
Aviation authorities in Myanmar have grounded the country’s fleet of Chinese-made MA-60 turboprop aircraft following a series of recent accidents.
An MA-60 operated by Myanma Airways swerved dramatically on landing at Kawthaung airport, in southern Myanmar, yesterday, and came off the runway.
None of the 60 passengers were hurt, but the incident came just days after another MA-60, operated by Merpati Nusantara Airlines, crashed on landing in Indonesia, and less than a month after another Myanma Airways MA-60 suffered apparent brake failure on landing at Monghsat Airport in eastern Myanmar. In 2011, a Merpati-operated MA-60 crashed in West Papua province, killing all everyone onboard.
This incident caused Indonesia to temporarily ground its fleet of MA-60s, and Myanmar has now done likewise. The country’s Civil Aviation Department told AFP it would “check all the systems” on the aircraft before allowing it to fly again.
The MA-60 is a twin turboprop aircraft manufactured by China’s Xi’an Aircraft Industrial Corporation. It is popular with operators in emerging markets, including Asia, Africa and Latin America. In Asia, the aircraft is used by carriers including Kyrgyzstan Airlines, Lao Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, Wuhan Airlines, Okay Airways (China) and Zest Airways (Philippines), along with Merpati and Myanma Airways.
It has been blighted by safety problems however, dating back to 2009 when a Zest Airways MA-60 veered sharply and crashed on landing at Caticlan Airport, near Boracay.
Comments are closed.