Kathmandu, April 28

The Chinese aircraft manufacturer has violated Nepal’s aeronautical regulations, as there is unauthorised display of Nepal’s aircraft registration marks on aircraft parked at Harbin based aircraft factory.

The three Y12e aircraft painted with NAC livery, the national flag and the Nepali call signs -- 9N AKV, 9N AKU and 9N AKT are parked at the airport in Harbin, where the manufacturer, the subsidiary of Aviation Industry Corporation of China, is based.

Joint Secretary Suresh Acharya, who heads the aviation safety division at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, said the Chinese manufacturer claimed that the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal had already issued a temporary certificate of registration (C of R) authorising it to display the Nepali registration marks on these aircraft.

“Our team noticed that all three Y12e aircraft were painted with the Nepali flag, as well as respective aircraft registration signs,” Acharya, who recently visited Xian and Harbin leading a four-member technical inspection team, revealed.

Refuting Chinese manufacturer’s claim of having temporary certificate of registration, CAAN Director General Sanjeev Gautam said there was no provision to issue temporary C of R to any aircraft.

Joint Secretary Acharya added that CAAN should take action against Chinese manufacturers if they had violated international standards on display of another state’s registration signs.

Interestingly, the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the regulator of the air transport in China, also appears to have failed in its oversight duties of matching records of the aircraft being manufactured and those placed on its civil aircraft register.

As per international norms, any aircraft after production is issued a certificate of registration by the state of manufacture (subsequently allowing display of registration marks on the fuselage) without which it cannot take to the skies, even for flight testing purposes.

This registration with the state of manufacture continues till it is replaced by that of another state, which is usually the aircraft holding company or operator, according to the international standards.

The approved procedure for aircraft registration by CAAN requires a formal approval by the director general on the memo for registration before the registration marks can be displayed on the aircraft.

Any violation is punishable as per provisions of CAAN Act.

It is improbable that the registration marks on the aircraft were mere guesswork by the manufacturer as only CAAN can provide the list of available registrations marks, an airline executive told this daily.

As part of the government to government deal with China, NAC is proceeding with the acquisition of six aircraft: 19-seater Y12e and 58-seater Modern Ark on grant and three Y12e and a MA60 aircraft on concessional loan.

China-granted two aircraft  MA 60 and Y12e  have already been bleeding the national flag carrier white.

Ramhari Sharma, NAC’s spokesperson, refused to comment on unauthorised use of its livery and registration marks.

“We are waiting for the Cabinet’s decision about the acquisition of new Chinese aircraft,” he said. NAC’s board has already made it clear that it wouldn’t handle more Chinese aircraft.

This incident exposes the clout exercised by Chinese manufacturers in the corridors of power in Nepal, let alone CAAN, an aviation expert said.

Even the European Union ban on Nepali airlines has been unable to change CAAN’s wayward ways, he added.