I thought they grounded them in Tonga, are they flying again? Why do you think the MA60 has such a bad reputation if there’s no problem? Is it just issues with the pilots at these airlines?

Thanks for your comment. Personally, I don’t think I’m spreading a distorted view of reality, because the safety of this plane is very controversial. The Wall Street Journal investigated a few months ago and found some very concerning things.

Of the 57 MA60s the manufacturer said it had exported as of January, at least 26 were put in storage after safety concerns, maintenance problems or other performance issues, the Journal calculated. Six others were deemed damaged beyond repair, or 11% of the foreign MA60 fleet.

China also does not release all of their domestic accident information, so there may well be more than 13 accidents. And 13 accidents when there are only 53 planes in operation seems like a lot to me. Compare that rate to the to the ATR-72, a similar plane, or the Airbus 320 family which is the other option to fly in Cambodia. And while I can believe that some of the MA60 accidents are due to user error, that doesn’t negate the stats listed above from the Wall Street Journal.

Out of curiosity, are you by any chance affiliated with an airline?

I am a little late in joining this conversation apparently, but I am completely backing Richard’s comments on the MA60. Granted this aircraft has had bad press, but surely for all the wrong reasons. It’s an incredibly tough aircraft and his rusticity is adapted to fly under those latitudes. Out of the 13 accidents that have involved this plane, only 1 has resulted in casualties. Naturally, that’s 1 too much, but as stated by Richard, training standards or weather conditions were to blame rather than aircraft specifications. Most equipment on-board are indeed from western origins and Bayon Airlines history is accident-free so far. As a blog taking pride in informing the traveling public, I think it is important not to spread a distorted view of the reality and potentially harm the reputation of businesses without fact-based evidences… Bayon Airlines commercial reliability might be debatable as reported by some of the contributors here (which is often the case with young airlines), however that doesn’t constitute a safety concern. That being said, well done for your blog and keep… flying high!

Thanks for the info Thibert.