The procedure with the Civil Aviation Agency of Montenegro (CAA) at the request of the national airline Air Montenegro (AM) for the entry into the Montenegrin register of the aircraft type "Embraer E195" (OY-GDB), which this airline intends to include in its fleet on the basis of the so-called dry lease arrangement, is in the initial phase and it is not possible to prejudge when and how it will be completed.
This was told to "Vijesti" yesterday by the CAA, which received a request to register this aircraft in the Montenegrin registry and a request for an airworthiness review certificate (ARC).
The aircraft currently bearing the Danish registration marks OY-GDB will, if accepted by the Montenegrin CAA and entered in our register, be leased by AM for three years, under an arrangement that includes only the aircraft, but not the crew, maintenance and insurance (dry lease). This means that, if this aircraft receives Montenegrin registration, it will fly in the AM fleet, piloted by the flight crew of our national airline and serviced by its cabin crew, and maintenance will be performed by AM technicians. Our airline will also pay for the insurance costs for the aircraft, and pay its owner the agreed lease fee, the amount of which, among other things, depends on the degree of utilization of the aircraft, i.e. the number of so-called cycles and flight hours that it will achieve while operating in the AM fleet.
"The request for registration of the aircraft with the previous registration number OY-GDB in the national civil aircraft register of Montenegro and the issuance of an ARC certificate of airworthiness of this aircraft, which AM submitted to us at the beginning of this week, is in the initial phase of consideration. A detailed analysis and verification of documentation and evidence will follow, and the aircraft will also be physically inspected, or checked," the CAA told "Vietima" yesterday, noting that these activities are "carried out by a complete team of experts from the Agency's Aircraft Safety and Aircraft Operations Sector, which includes inspectors, supervisors, engineers, pilots, and in cooperation with the CAA's legal team."
"Only after the completion of the demanding and thorough review, and depending on the final findings, will a decision be made on (non)acceptance of the registration application. Therefore, depending on the admissibility of the documentation and the evidence submitted, as well as the condition of the aircraft, it will be known whether it will be entered into the register. When making a decision, the CAA applies a number of regulations in this complex procedure, including the Air Traffic Act, as well as numerous by-laws that are in line with European regulations." - explained the CAA, emphasizing in particular that the entire procedure is carried out "in accordance with strictly defined rules, professionally and in accordance with regulations and international standards."
"When it comes to a request for registration of an aircraft in the civil aircraft register, it is necessary to meet a number of precisely defined conditions. These include: submission of evidence of ownership of the aircraft and its cargo, proof that the aircraft is airworthy, that mandatory third party insurance has been paid, payment of the transfer tax on used aircraft, as well as proof of deletion of the aircraft from the register of the previous state of registry. The Agency responsibly, independently and consistently exercises its legal jurisdiction, whereby the expert and experienced team of professionals in this institution puts safety first." - stated the CAA, emphasizing that "in order to preserve the integrity of the procedure - the Agency, once it completes the complete procedure required for decision-making, will inform the public about the final decision in this case."
This is an aircraft that was supposed to enter the fleet of the Serbian national carrier Air Serbia last year, also under a long-term dry lease, maintenance and insurance contract. The Serbian national airline, which is gradually introducing E195 aircraft into its fleet because they have proven to be very profitable and suitable for a large part of the routes in its network, however, for unknown reasons, gave up on this particular aircraft, so it was grounded at Belgrade Airport from the summer of last year until May 12th of this year. From there, OY-GDB flew less than a month ago to the Polish city of Bydgoszcz, where the headquarters of the company "WYZL-2" is located, which is certified for the so-called PART-145 maintenance of aircraft of the Brazilian manufacturer "Embraer", namely the E170/190 series aircraft. Since this aircraft had been more or less grounded and had flown very little in the last four years, Air Montenegro carried out a very detailed inspection of all aspects of it, in which they also engaged experts from Embraer, a Polish company authorized for the maintenance and servicing of E170/190 series aircraft.
In some circles in Montenegro, suspicions were expressed about this aircraft, which, according to allegations made in the media and on social networks by Captain Nikola Pavlićević - one of the former pilots of Montenegro Airlines and Air Montenegro, allegedly has deficient accompanying technical documentation that should provide detailed evidence of its maintenance and all regular service or possible extraordinary repair procedures that were performed on this aircraft during its use.
AM, however, said that the aircraft "about which there is speculation, has undergone a comprehensive technical and operational check, including analysis by expert teams from Air Montenegro, the manufacturer and EASA-certified maintenance organizations." They rejected all the accusations from Pavlićević and part of the Montenegrin media who accuse them of allegedly being negligent in introducing this aircraft into the fleet, which AM allegedly potentially endangers the safety of flights and its passengers.
"Every step in this process is carried out in strict accordance with applicable domestic and international regulations. All relevant entities are involved in the process - from manufacturers and authorized maintenance and audit organizations, to national and international regulatory bodies. The safety of passengers, crew and operations as a whole remains our absolute priority," said the national airline, whose director Vuk Stojanović, while appearing on TV Vijesti, announced the arrival of the aircraft from the service in Poland, where it is being painted in Air Montenegro colors, for June 20. Stojanović called on everyone who criticizes this work and expresses doubts about it to present any material evidence of their claims about the alleged technical and documentation deficiencies of the OY-GDB aircraft to the public and relevant institutions, and emphasized that according to his information, the request for registration of the aircraft in the Serbian registry last year, when Air Serbia intended to take it on a dry lease, was never actually submitted to the Serbian Directorate for Civil Aviation.
"The aircraft in question has undergone a comprehensive technical and operational check, including analysis by Air Montenegro's expert teams, the manufacturer and EASA-certified maintenance organizations. The allegations of 'invalid documentation' and 'compromised safety' are completely unfounded, unsubstantiated and as such represent a clear attempt to discredit a professional process of strategic importance to our company," the national airline said, stressing that the operator from whom they intend to lease the aircraft "is part of the group of owners of the aircraft in question that is on the EASA priority list of carriers."
"The owner of that company is also the current president of ERA (European Regions Airline Association), elected by votes of members such as Lufthansa Technik, Lufthansa Systems, TAP, KLM, Airbus, ATR and other renowned European organizations. Such professional credentials and international trust represent a relevant indicator of credibility for us - far more significant than unfounded claims and speculations of individuals without professional legitimacy, but with a very questionable ethical and safety profile," Air Montenegro stated.
Unofficially, the national airline is also considering taking legal action against anyone "who unjustifiably damages the reputation of Air Montenegro and tries to cause panic and public unrest with unfounded claims about the allegedly endangered safety of our passengers" because doing so anywhere in the world without providing solid evidence for the validity of such claims is a criminal offense that should be prosecuted ex officio by the Prosecutor's Office.
The national airline Air Montenegro (AM), which emerged from the former bankrupt Montenegrin state airline Montenegroairlines (MA), is one of the most experienced in Europe when it comes to the use and maintenance of the "Embraer E-195" aircraft. AM's engineers and technicians have more than 18 years of practical experience and continuous training in servicing and maintaining these aircraft, so they "know them like the back of their hands", and AM also has a very close relationship with the manufacturer of these aircraft - the Brazilian corporation Embraer, which previously singled out the Montenegrin company that flies its aircraft as representative in terms of good maintenance and the associated exceptionally high level of regularity of these aircraft.
Air Montenegro proposes that CAA inspectors inspect the aircraft on June 20th and 21st
Air Montenegro today submitted to the Civil Aviation Agency of Montenegro an official "Request for Determining the Airworthiness of the Aircraft", i.e. for performing the so-called basic inspection of the aircraft that the company intends to lease.
It was proposed that CAA inspectors conduct an inspection of the leased Embraer E195 on June 20th and 21st at Podgorica Airport.
Air Montenegro's request states that this aircraft, if accepted by the CAA and entered into the Montenegrin register, should fly under the new registration mark 4O-AOE, thus continuing the series of registration marks assigned to all previous "Embraer E190/195" that have flown or are still flying in the fleets of Montenegroairlines, i.e. Air Montenegro.
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