Senior Boeing 767 captain fails to overturn dismissal over safety breaches

In November 2022, Raya Airways dismissed Captain Ezil Azlan Ahmad Muniran after a safety incident on a domestic flight to Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport. The Industrial Court recently ruled that procedural flaws in the internal inquiry did not outweigh aviation safety standards, upholding the company's decision to terminate Captain Muniran's employment.

The incident involved a Boeing 767-200 aircraft, flight TH8806, which operated on April 24, 2022. During the final approach, the aircraft experienced ground proximity warning system alerts and descended at an excessive rate of over 2,000 feet per minute between 3,000 and 1,000 feet. The aircraft entered an unstable approach below 1,000 feet without the captain initiating a mandatory go-around procedure.

The aircraft exceeded its flap-speed limitations, and the captain failed to record instrument discrepancies in the official logbook, only informing maintenance personnel verbally after landing. Captain Muniran admitted to exceeding the flap speed limits and failing to record the technical discrepancies during a domestic inquiry but disputed charges involving the aircraft's descent profile and unstable approach.

The court found that procedural shortcomings in the internal inquiry did not invalidate the dismissal, as the captain was given a full and fair opportunity to present his defense before the Industrial Court. The court emphasized the zero-tolerance approach of commercial airlines towards safety breaches and concluded that Captain Muniran's failure to comply with mandatory landing procedures justified his dismissal.