Pacific cargo provider grounded by FAA

Asia Pacific Airlines, a cargo provider that Pacific islands rely on to deliver essential goods, has been grounded when the US Federal Aviation Administration ordered it to cease operations, according to media reports from Hawaii. The FAA suspended the operating authority of the company, also known as Aero Micronesia Inc., after the carrier was “unable to demonstrate that its pilots were properly trained,” the agency said in a statement. Under the terms of the emergency suspension, Asia Pacific must immediately surrender its air carrier certificate to the feds and cease operations until it provides complete records. Failure to surrender the certificate could lead to the company being fined $16,108 a day, according to the FAA. Adam Ferguson, Asia Pacific’s president, told reporters in Hawaii that the FAA’s concerns centre on pilot instructors who have flown planes for decades and are qualified to do their jobs. “There is no safety issue here,” he said. “It’s ridiculous.” Asia Pacific is appealing the suspension with the National Transportation Safety Board, Ferguson said. The FAA said it issued an emergency order of suspension “after the company failed to produce records showing that the two individuals who provide proficiency checks for company pilots were properly trained and qualified for the past two years…Under the regulations, any flight check provided by these two individuals is invalid, meaning that none of the company’s pilots are currently qualified to fly,” it added. For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Matt Driskill at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Head of Sales Kay Rolland at [email protected]