Dark Knight
10th Mar 2008, 00:33
I was under the impression the Cessna Caravan 208 has a fixed landing gear?
Is this a hole in the pilot's story or another journalistic incompetence?
DK
Aussie plane sparks Singapore scare
Sanna Trad | March 10, 2008
THE passenger of an Australian float plane, which sparked an international security scare and closed Changi airport when it flew into Singaporean airspace, says he and the pilot were the victims of a hoax security warning.
Darren Johnson, the lone passenger on the Cessna 208 Caravan on its January 22 flight, said Singaporean authorities were given false information about the flight, from the southern Thai resort island of Koh Samui to Singapore.
It was an allegation that the aircraft had been stolen while on a test flight that prompted Singaporean authorities to close air traffic for an hour and scramble two FA-16 fighter jets to force the plane down.
"The real reason our aircraft was assessed as a security threat by Singapore is that someone deliberately made false statements about our aircraft to Singapore authorities whilst we were in flight," Mr Johnson said in a statement to The Australian.
He alleges that Singaporean authorities were told the aircraft was stolen, unregistered and had left Thai airspace under suspicious circumstances.
He said the "malicious" claims were made because the plane's pilot, Rhys Thomas, had refused to pay bribes in Thailand.
"I witnessed the bribes being asked by two Thai individuals at the time of settlement of the purchase of the aircraft at Koh Samui on January 21, 2008," Mr Johnson said.
Mr Johnson said Mr Thomas had purchased the plane in Koh Samui and on January 22 took it for a one-hour test flight before a planned flight to Broome.
During the test flight, the pilot realised the landing gear of the plane would not completely go down and he chose to fly to Seletar airport in Singapore because he knew the facilities there were adequate. After being forced down by the jets, Mr Johnson and Mr Thomas were arrested. After 48 hours they were released, only to be held under "house arrest" for the next five weeks.
Mr Johnson said they were accused of trying to enter Singapore airspace without clearance or a flight plan, of not making radio contact and of being an unidentified aircraft.
Mr Thomas has since been charged with flying an aircraft without a certificate of airworthiness. He remains in Singapore and appeared in a pre-trial hearing on Friday.
Mr Johnson, who has returned to Broome, said he and Mr Thomas had been in regular radio contact with Singaporean, Thai and British flight authorities after they left Koh Samui.
"Our flight plan was accepted and we were cleared through Malaysia and Singapore. We were specifically cleared by Singapore to enter into their airspace to land at Seletar Airport," he said.
"At all times in Singapore we continued to be radar identified and on track and in constant two-way contact."
The Australian understands Mr Thomas approached the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority asking about airworthiness documentation required for a flight over Singapore.
Correspondence between CASA officials and officials of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, seen by The Australian, shows Mr Thomas was initially told by a CASA official he required a certificate of airworthiness, but was later told he did not.
He was then told that he had no need for a document called a Special Flight Permit, which would obviate the need for a certificate of airworthiness. On January 22, the day of the flight, he was informed by voicemail that he in fact required a Special Flight Permit.
Spokesman Peter Gibson said yesterday CASA did not have the authority to tell Mr Thomas what he would or would not require to fly over Singapore.
"All we can give him is advice. We do not have jurisdiction over Singapore and it was his responsibility to seek advice from the authorities in Singapore before flying out," he said.
"We did what we could to correct the information that was given to him by a CASA official. There is still a question as to whether that reached him, but our message to all pilots is that it's their responsibility to check these things with the country they are flying to."
Special Flight Permits for Singapore are issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.
Attempts to contact Mr Thomas's lawyers yesterday were unsuccessful.
Is this a hole in the pilot's story or another journalistic incompetence?
DK
Aussie plane sparks Singapore scare
Sanna Trad | March 10, 2008
THE passenger of an Australian float plane, which sparked an international security scare and closed Changi airport when it flew into Singaporean airspace, says he and the pilot were the victims of a hoax security warning.
Darren Johnson, the lone passenger on the Cessna 208 Caravan on its January 22 flight, said Singaporean authorities were given false information about the flight, from the southern Thai resort island of Koh Samui to Singapore.
It was an allegation that the aircraft had been stolen while on a test flight that prompted Singaporean authorities to close air traffic for an hour and scramble two FA-16 fighter jets to force the plane down.
"The real reason our aircraft was assessed as a security threat by Singapore is that someone deliberately made false statements about our aircraft to Singapore authorities whilst we were in flight," Mr Johnson said in a statement to The Australian.
He alleges that Singaporean authorities were told the aircraft was stolen, unregistered and had left Thai airspace under suspicious circumstances.
He said the "malicious" claims were made because the plane's pilot, Rhys Thomas, had refused to pay bribes in Thailand.
"I witnessed the bribes being asked by two Thai individuals at the time of settlement of the purchase of the aircraft at Koh Samui on January 21, 2008," Mr Johnson said.
Mr Johnson said Mr Thomas had purchased the plane in Koh Samui and on January 22 took it for a one-hour test flight before a planned flight to Broome.
During the test flight, the pilot realised the landing gear of the plane would not completely go down and he chose to fly to Seletar airport in Singapore because he knew the facilities there were adequate. After being forced down by the jets, Mr Johnson and Mr Thomas were arrested. After 48 hours they were released, only to be held under "house arrest" for the next five weeks.
Mr Johnson said they were accused of trying to enter Singapore airspace without clearance or a flight plan, of not making radio contact and of being an unidentified aircraft.
Mr Thomas has since been charged with flying an aircraft without a certificate of airworthiness. He remains in Singapore and appeared in a pre-trial hearing on Friday.
Mr Johnson, who has returned to Broome, said he and Mr Thomas had been in regular radio contact with Singaporean, Thai and British flight authorities after they left Koh Samui.
"Our flight plan was accepted and we were cleared through Malaysia and Singapore. We were specifically cleared by Singapore to enter into their airspace to land at Seletar Airport," he said.
"At all times in Singapore we continued to be radar identified and on track and in constant two-way contact."
The Australian understands Mr Thomas approached the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority asking about airworthiness documentation required for a flight over Singapore.
Correspondence between CASA officials and officials of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, seen by The Australian, shows Mr Thomas was initially told by a CASA official he required a certificate of airworthiness, but was later told he did not.
He was then told that he had no need for a document called a Special Flight Permit, which would obviate the need for a certificate of airworthiness. On January 22, the day of the flight, he was informed by voicemail that he in fact required a Special Flight Permit.
Spokesman Peter Gibson said yesterday CASA did not have the authority to tell Mr Thomas what he would or would not require to fly over Singapore.
"All we can give him is advice. We do not have jurisdiction over Singapore and it was his responsibility to seek advice from the authorities in Singapore before flying out," he said.
"We did what we could to correct the information that was given to him by a CASA official. There is still a question as to whether that reached him, but our message to all pilots is that it's their responsibility to check these things with the country they are flying to."
Special Flight Permits for Singapore are issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.
Attempts to contact Mr Thomas's lawyers yesterday were unsuccessful.