Nippon Cargo Airlines has received a Business Improvement Order from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) following aircraft maintenance issues.
The order from the MLIT is due to violations relating to “inappropriate maintenance for the aircraft structure”, “the report delay to the MLIT”, and “organised manipulation and concealment of corresponding maintenance records”.
In a statement on its website, the Japanese airline apologises to customers for the inconvenience will the fleet was grounded from 17 June to 4 July to check aircraft safety.
Two aircraft, registered JA18KZ and JA05KZ are operating again but most services remain suspended.
The airline says: “We are re-evaluating our internal processes and controls since our analysis and preventive measures for the “Written Warning” NCA received from the MLIT on 5 October, 2016 did not prevent these same types of discrepancies in our operation.”
It adds that a third party is assisting the airline evaluate the root causes of the problem and examine preventive measures immediately to report back to the MLIT.
Nippon Cargo Airlines says all aircraft operating have been confirmed to be airworthy and safe, and the remainder of the fleet is undergoing the same inspection.
It says: “We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and worries that we caused our customers. We will do our utmost effort to conclude the safety checks for resuming the operation as quick as possible.”
