Mokulele temporarily grounds fleet of 9-seat Cessna Caravans

The new owner of Mokulele Airlines has temporarily grounded its fleet of four Cessna Grand Caravans while waiting for replacement parts following an internal record-keeping audit.

Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Transpac Aviation, which purchased the nine-seat turboprops last month from Mesa Air Group Inc., stopped flying today but expects to have at least one of its aircraft in the air by late Saturday.

Ron Hansen, chairman and CEO of parent company Mokulele Flight Services Inc., said the voluntary shutdown was to give the company additional time to thoroughly research parts records and take any necessary corrective action. He said the parts involved were bolts, nuts and bushings.

He said that 46 flights were canceled today with an undetermined number of cancellations planned for Saturday. He said about 300 passengers fly daily on the routes that go from Honolulu to both Molokai and Lanai, as well as between Kona, Maui and Molokai. Hansen said the record-keeping error was discovered during a routine audit and is not a safety-of-flight issue.

Hansen said Mokulele is working with go!Mokulele, which operates 50-seat CRJ-200s jets, to re-accommodate passengers on other flights when possible. When not possible, Hansen said passengers have been given refunds and voucher for a future flight.