Winnipeg-based airline Fast Air was searched by Transport Canada and police investigators on Monday. (CBC)

A Winnipeg-based airline offering air ambulance and chartered flight services is being investigated by Transport Canada for the second time in a little more than a year.

Winnipeg police, accompanied by Transport Canada investigators, executed a search warrant at the head office of Fast Air on Monday, CBC News has learned.

The federal regulator wants to find out whether Fast Air is breaking any Canadian flight-safety laws, an agency spokesperson confirmed.

The company, which operates 13 aircraft and employs about 65 people, has retained its licence to operate.

Monday's search was part of a "new and ongoing" investigation, the spokesperson said.

Transport Canada said it last inspected Fast Air in March 2009 and found nothing that would affect flight safety, the spokesperson said.

However, about four months later, the agency ordered Fast Air to pay more than $200,000 in fines for 22 counts of violating federal safety regulations.

The company failed on 11 occasions to enter defects into aircraft journey logs and failed 11 other times to operate aircraft in compliance with the company's own maintenance control system, Transport Canada said.

The company is appealing the ruling.

Dylan Fast, the company's owner and president, was also charged with wilfully omitting entries in records. His case remains before Manitoba's provincial court. His next court date is Jan. 18.

The maximum penalty for the charge against him is $5,000, a year in prison or both, Transport Canada said.

Company surprised

Fast Air general manager Ray Snaith said Wednesday that the latest visit by investigators to the company's office on Hangar Line Road was a complete surprise.

Snaith could say little about the Transport Canada probe.

"It's difficult to speak about the allegations without getting into a more in-depth conversation with [them]," he said.

"We do believe that a good relationship between the regulator and the operator is essential and we are committed to that."

Snaith defended Fast Air's safety record, saying the company has had no injuries or in-flight accidents in 15 years.

"Our safety record speaks for itself," he said.