AACM makes factual statement about the TransAsia aircraft which encountered an accident this morning

With reference to the crash accident that took place this morning of the ATR72-600 passenger aircraft of TransAsia during its en-route flight from Taipei to the Kinmen islands, some Taiwan news media have reported that the engine of the aircraft was replaced in Macau International Airport. As a number of our local news media have made enquiries to the Civil Aviation Authority of Macao SAR (AACM) on this issue, AACM wishes to take the opportunity of releasing the following information to allow the media and the residents to get a clearer picture of the fact regarding the maintenance work that was carried out on the replacement of the engine in Macao and reiterates the aviation safety policy of Macao:

1. The aircraft involved was a new passenger aircraft of TransAsia. During the flight of the new aircraft on its delivery to Taiwan in April 2014, TransAsia applied to AACM to divert the flight to Macau International Airport on 19 April 2014 due to engine technical problem. While in Macau International Airport, the replacement of the engine was done by the maintenance crew called in from Taiwan by TransAsia, in other words, the replacement of the engine was not performed by Macao’s registered maintenance organizations.
   

2. Upon completion of the maintenance work, the aircraft departed from Macau International Airport on 21 April 2014.
   

3. The Administration of Airports, Ltd. reported the case to AACM in accordance with AACM’s Mandatory Occurrence Reporting System.
   

4. TranAsia has never deployed that aircraft to operate the flight services between Macao and Taiwan.
   

5. In our work for guaranteeing Macao’s aviation safety, AACM always puts safety as the core element in the air transport industry. AACM always aims at “safety first” and is continually improving laws and regulations, standards and requirements to ensure that all aviation activities carried out in Macao comply with Macao’s aviation laws and regulations as well as international standards.