Malaysian Airlines (MAS) flights transiting in Hong Kong are flirting with danger, according to two letters of complaint sent to the Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) last month.

The letters, dated June 5 and June 7, claimed that the maintenance and certification checks on these planes were being carried out by unauthorised personnel from the Pan Asia Pacific Aviation Services (Papas).

Papas, which is operating under the licence of the Hong Kong Department of Civil Aviation, conducts transit and maintenance checks on planes belonging to several key airlines including MAS.

The letters, both penned by ex-Papas engineer K K Hui, said the checks were supposed to be conducted by approved engineers but this was not the case.

Hui explained that under-qualified Papas engineers are inspecting planes such as Boeing 747 or Airbus 330.

According to Hui, qualified engineers are instructing their subordinates, who do not have the required licences to inspect such planes, to carry out the checks instead.

During their checks, the subordinates forge the signatures of the engineers in their inspection documents.

However, Papas strongly denied the allegations.

"No such thing. We always follow procedure. If anyone should complain, they should come to us," said its operations supervisor, who only wished to be identified as Chow, when contacted yesterday.

Cover-up?

In an email communique to malaysiakini, Hui claimed that had the matter been reported directly to Papas, there would be a 'cover-up' as it would be a blow to the company's reputation.

He said some former lower-ranked engineers were aware of the malpractice but dared not voice out the problem.

"When aircraft arrives at a destination, it is the duty of the engineer to do the walk around check of the aircraft to see if there is any visible damage," said Hui.

"Afterwards, he will go up to the cockpit and consult the operating captain if any defect is recorded in the tech log. If so, he has to get it rectified before the flight departs. Otherwise, he will only have to sign his name and approval number onto the tech log. It will take him only a couple of minutes if there is no defect."

Hui claimed that the subordinates who performed the checks forged the signatures of the leader engineers scheduled to carry out the tasks in the log book.

"The operating captain of MAS does not know who is who. Whenever a man wearing a Papas' white engineer uniform enters the cockpit, the captain will deem he is the one who has authority to sign the tech log."

Complaint being investigated

Papas also performs maintenance checks for Singapore Airlines, Garuda Airlines, Royal Brunei Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Gulf Air's flight transiting Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation - a government agency tasked to ensure the safety air transportation - confirmed receiving Hui's letter, which was addressed to its director-general Kok Soo Chon.

Its flight operations division director Captain Yahaya Abdul Rahman said the department's Airworthiness Division director Azharuddin Abdul Rahman is looking into the complaint.

Azharuddin could not be reached for comment.

MAS, on the other hand, appeared to be in the dark over the matter.

"No one has complained. I cannot give information off hand at the moment. But we will look into it as it is a big allegation," said its Corporate Communications Manager Jackie Christy when contacted.

MAS, along with Singapore Airlines, Garuda Airlines and Royal Brunei Airlines, are key shareholders of Hong Kong-based Papas.

A check on the MAS website showed that there are at least two daily connecting and direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Hong Kong.