Aussie pilot charged with unauthorised flight into S'pore
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Aussie pilot charged with unauthorised flight into S'pore
http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2...ry_211362.html
Feb 28, 2008
Aussie pilot charged with unauthorised flight into S'pore
AN AUSTRALIAN who flew into Singapore last month on a Cessna 208 without an approved flight plan was charged in a district court on Thursday (feb28) with flying without a certificate of airworthiness.
Rhys Henry Thomas, 59, is alleged to have piloted the 1998 Australian-registered Caravan amphibious seaplane without the valid certificate issued by the Australian authority at about 7.20pm on Jan 22.
He is believed to have flown in from Koh Samui, Thailand, with a passenger.
Clad in a short-sleeve blue shirt and tie and khaki trousers, Thomas was calm when the charge under the Air Navigation Order was read to him.
If convicted, he faces a fine of up to $5,000 or a year's jail, or both.
His lawyer, Mr Salem Ibrahim, applied for the case to be adjourned to make representations to the Attorney-General's Chambers.
The prosecution sought bail of $15,000 but counsel asked for the bail to be reduced to a third.
Mr Ibrahim said his client had been here for the past five weeks and had his passport with him. He assured the court that there was no flight risk.
But Inspector Leow Teck Wee disagreed. As a foreigner, he said Thomas had no links or ties in Singapore and his attendance must be compelled with an appropriate amount of bail.
District Judge John Ng set bail at $10,000 and impounded his passport.
The case has been fixed for a pre-trial conference on March 13.
Feb 28, 2008
Aussie pilot charged with unauthorised flight into S'pore
AN AUSTRALIAN who flew into Singapore last month on a Cessna 208 without an approved flight plan was charged in a district court on Thursday (feb28) with flying without a certificate of airworthiness.
Rhys Henry Thomas, 59, is alleged to have piloted the 1998 Australian-registered Caravan amphibious seaplane without the valid certificate issued by the Australian authority at about 7.20pm on Jan 22.
He is believed to have flown in from Koh Samui, Thailand, with a passenger.
Clad in a short-sleeve blue shirt and tie and khaki trousers, Thomas was calm when the charge under the Air Navigation Order was read to him.
If convicted, he faces a fine of up to $5,000 or a year's jail, or both.
His lawyer, Mr Salem Ibrahim, applied for the case to be adjourned to make representations to the Attorney-General's Chambers.
The prosecution sought bail of $15,000 but counsel asked for the bail to be reduced to a third.
Mr Ibrahim said his client had been here for the past five weeks and had his passport with him. He assured the court that there was no flight risk.
But Inspector Leow Teck Wee disagreed. As a foreigner, he said Thomas had no links or ties in Singapore and his attendance must be compelled with an appropriate amount of bail.
District Judge John Ng set bail at $10,000 and impounded his passport.
The case has been fixed for a pre-trial conference on March 13.
Hmmm, I would love to know the rego. There is one that springs to mind, but I'm not going to stick my neck out & say it!
DF.
DF.
How dare those slitty eye fellas from the lion city mess around with fair dinkums, bethren of Bushie's deputy sherrif? Time to boycott the lion city!Join Date: Feb 2008
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Like thr drug war between them & us, we would send 'em back to their own country if found with drugs here & probably pay for the return trip but the other way around their off with the fairies when it comes to an aeroplane wondering into their airspace! What do they think an Aussie is going to do with one Cessna Caravan & not even a tea towel in sight!! FGS let's drop a bomb on them & rid the pacific rim of their over zelous standards !
F
F
Photos have already been posted along with rego when things first happened
DF.
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a background :
http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?p=3943610
Police widen probe into air intrusion
By David Boey
A POLICE investigation into the airspace intrusion that shut down Changi Airport for close to an hour on Jan 22 has turned to how the pilot of the plane got his aircraft.
The Cessna 208 Caravan Amphibian seaplane, said to be worth US$1.2 million (S$1.7 million), has been impounded.
Singapore police are holding on to the passports of the pilot, Mr Rhys Thomas, said to be in his late 50s to early 60s, and his sole passenger, Mr Darren Johnson, said to be a flight engineer in his 40s and both Australians are still “assisting with investigations”.
The Straits Times understands that the police are looking into three suspicious areas.
First, the flight. The plane did not have permission to leave Thai airspace for its flight from Koh Samui airport that day.
It had been cleared only for 50 minute test flight in the vicinity of the airport.
Instead, the pilots went on a 1,000km, six hour trip - without immigration clearance or filing a flight plan, which is required under international aviation rules.
The history of the plane has also thrown up some questions.
Records showed the plane changed owners twice in a few weeks recently.
Ownership was first transferred last December to a Mrs Mali Sadd.
Barely a month later, it was sold to some Australians – supposedly on the cheap – and was registered as belonging to a Ms Mary Cummins.
Ms Cummins and Mr Thomas run a tour agency called Horizontal Falls Adventure Tours in Broome, a coastal resort town in Western Australia.
They also operate a company called Kimberley Seaplanes, which has two other Cessnas of the type that was piloted by Mr Thomas.
Before these transfers, the plane had been owned by Coco Seaplanes, which was in turn owned by Coco International Properties, a company set up to develop beachfront real estate on Koh Samui.
The company was headed by a Mr Alan Sadd – the husband of Mrs Mali Sadd.
As it turns out, Mr Sadd had been in trouble with the authorities in Bangkok for failing to pay 750 000 baht (S$34,000) to a construction firm. He was arrested on Jan 15 as he attempted to leave Koh Samui for Taiwan.
Finally, Mr Thomas background is also being looked into.
It has emerged that Singapore police have contacted an Australian aviator who once flew for him.
The aviator, who declined to be named, told the Straits Times when contacted that he was arrested in the Seychelles while piloting a plane for Mr Thomas that had false registration.
The airspace intrusion on Jan 22 sparked an air defence response, and the episode ended when two missile-armed Republic of Singapore Air Force F16D jets forced the Cessna to land at Changi Airport’s central runway.
The resulting lockdown of Singapore’s airspace triggered by the intrusion affected 17 inbound flights, which were forced into holding patterns. Six departures were delayed.
The two Aussies were questioned immediately upon landing, and it is understood that Mr Thomas initially claimed that he had problems with the landing gear of his seaplane.
He claimed that was the reason for the diversion to Singapore.
But as the investigations progressed, the new details surrounding the flight aroused the police’s suspicious.
A defence source noted that the current probe has gone on longer than the investigation into the last reported airspace intrusion in August 2003.
The source said that probe was “wrapped up within a day” after the authorities learnt that an electrical fault prevented a Portuguese pilot from talking to air traffic controllers.
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great topic
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District Judge John Ng set bail at $10,000 and impounded his passport.
Someone tell the pilot not to be caught eating fruit or anything else on Singapores MRT while he's there or he'll really be up to his neck in it.
