According to the Air Accident Investigation Bureau's report, the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM), the agency in charge of safety and technical matters, was not aware of any grounding instruction.

KUALA LUMPUR (March 13): Malaysia’s aviation authorities should tighten monitoring of chartered flights following the crash of a light aircraft in Kapar, Selangor which killed its pilot and a sole passenger last month, an initial report released by an independent investigative body under Ministry of Transport (MOT) on Wednesday showed.

The Blackshape BK 160TR had continued to be flown during the time when the plane was supposed to be grounded, according to the Air Accident Investigation Bureau's (AAIB) report. The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM), the agency in charge of safety and technical matters, however, was not aware of any grounding instruction, it noted.

“CAAM is recommended to implement appropriate measures that provide closer scrutiny on non-scheduled flight operations in Malaysia by foreign-registered aircraft and foreign-licensed aircrew to ensure safe operations,” the report said.

Under the guidelines of the International Civil Aviation Organization, the United Nations' aviation safety arm also known as ICAO, investigators are expected to issue a preliminary report within 30 days of a crash. The reports do not assign blame or liability but contain facts and findings surrounding an accident.

ICAO rules also call for countries to produce a final report available publicly, preferably within a year of an incident.

On Oct 25, 2023, the manufacturer Blackshape SpA. told the European Union Aviation Safety Agency about an “occurrence” to the fuel selector indication system of the aircraft registered as I-POOC. Blackshape decided to ground the aircraft while waiting to resolve the issue.

Whether the instructions to ground the aircraft “were properly communicated to and clearly understood by all the relevant parties” will be determined with further evidence.

“The circumstances on why the aircraft had continued to be operated despite the grounding orders, and the consequent impact on the aircraft airworthiness status, will be determined as further evidence are made available,” it said.

Further, there is evidence indicating that “irregular” maintenance activities had been performed on the ill-fated aircraft, AIIB said in the report. These include installation of uncertified parts, as well as installation and servicing by unauthorised organisation or persons who were not properly qualified to carry out the maintenance activities.

Investigators also found evidence that the I-POOC had exceeded the maximum take-off weight of the aircraft, which is 850kg, during the accident on Feb 13, 2024.

“Other safety recommendations shall be included in the final report,” it added.