Australia grounds Mahindra Aerospace GA8 planes after Swedish crash

Australia’s air safety regulator has grounded operations of a small aircraft manufactured by Mahindra Aerospace for up to 15 days in the wake of a crash in Sweden that killed nine people earlier this month.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) said it had suspended operations of all GippsAero GA8 planes in Australia and all Australian-registered GA8 planes flying overseas between July 20 and August 3.

The GA8 single-engine aircraft, manufactured in Australia, is typically used for skydiving, tourism, air patrols, medical evacuations and humanitarian missions in remote locations, according to Mahindra Aerospace’s website.

There are 228 GA8 planes worldwide, 63 of which are registered in Australia, CASA said.

Mahindra Aerospace, a unit of India-based Mahindra & Mahindra, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Nine Swedes were killed when a GA8, dubbed the Airvan 8, crashed during a skydiving trip near Umea in northern Sweden on July 14.

CASA said it has been working closely with the Swedish and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which has also issued an emergency directive to European GA8 aircraft owners and operators to suspend operations except for ferry flights.