Indonesia's transport ministry has ordered Merpati Nusantara Airlines to stop operating Xian MA60s to three airports in the wake of a safety audit carried out following a fatal accident.
Merpati is not allowed to operate the aircraft to the coastal Ende and Waingapu airports in East Nusa Tenggara province, or Ruteng airport in West Nusa Tenggara province, said director general of civil aviation Henry Bakti Gumay.
He said there is proof of pilot "indiscipline" in a 7 May crash at Kaimana, which killed all 25 people on board the MA60 - the first fatal loss involving the Chinese-built twin-engined type.
Procedures for landing preparations needed to be made at a greater altitude than that used by the crew, he said.
The ministry, which did not find any fault with Merpati's 12 remaining MA60s, has cleared 10 aircraft in the audit. But two aircraft have been grounded, it added, without elaborating.
It has instructed the airline to re-evaluate its pilot training programme and acquire a simulator, said Gumay. Merpati has procured a simulator and plans to have it ready by the end of the year, he added.
The three airports to which the type has been prohibited from operating reportedly require pilots to possess specific manoeuvring skills.
Source: Flight International
