Lulutai Saab 340 landing incident triggers investigation

By Andrew Curran.

An investigation is underway after an overloaded Saab 340B wet-leased to Lulutai Airlines “experienced difficulty” while landing at Vava’u Airport (VAV) last week.

According to a report in Tonga’s Kaniva News, which cites “a reliable source,” an airport worker loaded additional undocumented baggage onto the aircraft at Tongatapu (TBU), which the flight crew was unaware of.

After landing, the pilot ordered the aircraft to be reweighed, revealing a “significant discrepancy” and sparking an investigation. The report did not say what event or events occurred during the landing.

Air Chathams presently has two Saab 340s at Lulutai Airlines. The first, ZK-KRA (msn 340A-065), has been in Tonga since August 10, 2026, and regularly flies between Tongatapu and Vava’u.

The second, ZK-CIY, arrived on August 26 and is set to operate the same route. At the time of publication, both aircraft remain in Tonga, although ZK-CIY has not operated since August 28.

Unclear whether landing damaged aircraft

It is unclear which aircraft was involved in the incident and whether it sustained any damage during the landing. However, Air Chathams has an established history of either wet-leasing or damp-leasing aircraft to Lulutai Airlines, which has been without its own Saab 340 since it was involved in a runway excursion in late 2023 and never returned to service.

There is no suggestion that any Air Chathams employees onboard the flight were aware of the discrepancy between the actual baggage weight and the reported baggage weight.

Aero South Pacific has contacted Air Chathams and Tonga’s Civil Aviation Office, which oversees aviation safety and incidents in the island nation.

Air Chathams CEO Duane Emeny confirmed to Kaniva News that an investigation was underway but declined to provide further details.

“There is an active investigation underway. We will not comment until that investigation is complete,” he said.

Photo:  Lulutai Airlines.
Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com