Fairfax Media is reporting the Australian Corporate Jet Centre CEO sent an email to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority at 1.27pm on February 21 saying the crashed plane had “nothing to do with our company” and that it would not be requiring the certificate. 

The company received an email from CASA confirming its ownership of the plane at 12.01pm. The email said the decision was actioned on February 16.  

Australian Corporate Jet Centre CEO Vas Nikolovski told the Bendigo Advertiser at approximately 1.19pm his company registered the plane “a week or so” ago. 

“My Jet is the owner, although it's on our certificate to charter and use for commercial purpose,” Mr Nikolovski said. 

“In order to be able to operate an aircraft for venue, for it to be chartered, it needs to be on air operator certificate.

“It's only just come across on our certificate a week or so ago.” 

Civil Aviation Safety Authority records show Australian Corporate Jet Centres became the registered operator of VH-ZCR on February 16, just five days before it went down.

EARLIER: The aviation company potentially facing a multimillion-dollar lawsuit over the Essendon DFO disaster was told three hours after the crash that the plane involved had been registered in its name.

As the wreckage smouldered at 12.01pm on February 21, and it was confirmed that five lives had been lost, Australian Corporate Jet Centres received an email from the aviation authority confirming it was the plane's registered operator.

The company's CEO replied at 1.27pm: "Unfortunately this aircraft was destroyed in an accident today which you may have seen in the media, the plane was flown by Max Quatermaine [sic] under his AOC – Corporate and Leisure Travel and had nothing to do with our company. Sad news all round but we won't be requiring the certificate."

With the threat of lawsuits and insurance payouts mounting over Victoria's worst aviation disaster in 30 years, the Essendon-based company has sought to have its registration overturned.

Australian Corporate Jet Centres claims it was not responsible for the plane due to an administrative bungle over a $65 application fee in December.

Civil Aviation Safety Authority records show Australian Corporate Jet Centres became the registered operator of VH-ZCR on February 16, just five days before it went down.

Emails published in a finding by the Commonwealth's Administrative Appeals Tribunal show the company did not find out its application to transfer registration had been approved until midday on February 21 – three hours after the crash at 8.58am.

"Your application was actioned ... it should be on its way in the mail," CASA wrote in the email sent at 12.01pm.

With the media spotlight intensifying and emergency services still on the scene, the company's CEO, Sam Iliades, replied to CASA telling it that the plane had gone down. The plane was being flown by pilot Max Quartermain under his air operator certificate, he wrote.

The company continues to maintain that position: "It was not our air operator's certificate, not our client, not our revenue, not our pilot," Australian Corporate Jet Centres said in a statement on Monday.

Fairfax Media understands just who was legally responsible for the flight is still being investigated.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has been sifting through the wreckage of the plane, trying to piece together what caused it to go down shortly after take-off.

A recent preliminary report found that both engines and propellers appeared to be in working order at the time of the flight and that there was no evidence of mechanical failure.

Australian Corporate Jet Centres recently applied to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to have the CASA registration decision overturned but the matter was dismissed due to a lack of jurisdiction.

The matter was taken to the tribunal after the company originally had its application to become the plane's operator cancelled in late December because incorrect credit card details were used to pay the $65 application fee.

According to emails published in the tribunal finding, the company was not informed its application had been cancelled.

On January 30 the company emailed the regulator to find out what the delay was, only to be told the transfer had not gone through.

A new application was submitted and approved just over two weeks later.

CASA updated its register on February 16, sending out a letter to Australian Corporate Jet Centres and the previous registered operator, MyJet Aviation, informing them of the change.

The letter also contained a reminder of the operator's obligations.

These included the display of nationality and registration marks, as well as responsibility for airworthiness and maintenance. 

When the letter hadn't arrived by February 20, Mr Iliades sent another email asking CASA about the "status of the registered operator application".

The response came a day later, when the plane had already crashed.

Any lawsuit could run into tens of millions of dollars, with the family of the passengers plus the hundreds of people who witnessed the crash all having a potential claim. At least three law firms have been retained, Fairfax understands.

"[The case] could generate a very large lawsuit for the entity that is found to be responsible under the law of negligence for the air crash by a court," Shine Lawyers aviation department manager Thomas Janson said.

Negligence is yet to be proved in the case, as investigators continue to work through the plane's wreckage. But if it could be proved, hundreds of bystanders who saw the flight go down might be able to claim for nervous shock, Mr Janson said.

- The Age