The new owner of Mokulele Airlines has temporarily grounded its fleet of four Cessna Grand Caravans while waiting for replacement parts following an internal record-keeping audit.
Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Transpac Aviation, which purchased the nine-seat turboprops last month from Mesa Air Group Inc., stopped flying Friday but expects to have at least one of its aircraft in the air by late today.
Ron Hansen, chairman and CEO of parent company Mokulele Flight Services Inc., said the voluntary shutdown was meant to give the company additional time to thoroughly research parts records and take any necessary corrective action. He said the parts involved were bolts, nuts and bushings.
He said 46 flights were canceled Friday with an undetermined number of cancellations planned for today. He said about 300 passengers fly daily on the routes from Honolulu to both Molokai and Lanai, as well as between Kona, Maui and Molokai. Hansen said the record-keeping error was discovered during a routine audit and is not a safety-of-flight issue.
"The parts issue has been a big thing with the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) for many years of having traceability for all U.S.-registered aircraft," Hansen said. "The only way that we could ascertain that the parts on all of the four aircraft owned by Mokulele are traceable was by putting them on the ground and going through this audit.
"It’s a very painful process and not done without great thought. Financially it’s a disaster for us. But the alternative was if there was something that was not traceable, and it was found later, there would be severe consequences with the FAA, and we chose this."
Hansen said the audit is going well, and he expects the first aircraft to fly sometime later today.
"By Monday we expect to be back to a normal schedule," he said.
Go!Mokulele, the Hawaii division of Phoenix-based Mesa that previously operated the Caravans, has assigned aviation maintenance technicians and quality assurance inspectors to provide support and additional expertise to Mokulele.
Hansen said Mokulele is working with go!Mokulele, which operates 50-seat CRJ-200s jets, to reaccommodate passengers on other flights when possible. When not possible, Hansen said, passengers have been given refunds and vouchers for future flights.
Hansen said Mokulele plans to add routes from Kapalua, Maui, to both Honolulu and Kona in January.
