Post by Brett on May 9, 2008 10:07:45 GMT 12
nz.news.yahoo.com/080508/3/5be1.html
Thursday May 8, 06:58 PM
Civil Aviation Authority gets good report... finally
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has responded properly to a damning coroner's report into a fatal 2003 air crash which left eight people dead, the Auditor-General's office said today.
The 2006 report was the latest in a litany of criticism against the CAA in which Christchurch Coroner Richard McElrea raised concerns about the CAA's failure to properly monitor small airlines.
Before this, the CAA was severely criticised by MPs on Parliament's transport select committee for failing to react to adverse reports by the Auditor-General's office about its lack of surveillance.
There were concerns the authority had ignored audit reports going back to 1995, though CAA denied this was true.
The Auditor-General's report released today said the CAA had either addressed the coroner's recommendations or responded to them in a proper manner.
The report was less enthusiastic about the Ministry of Transport's response to the coroner saying its monitoring and assessment of the CAA's performance was not up to scratch.
The report said an audit on the CAA's approach to certification and surveillance would be carried out later this year.
The coroner's report followed the crash of a twin-engined Piper Navajo Chieftain which plunged into farmland 2km short of Christchurch Airport on June 6, 2003, killing pilot Michael Bannerman and seven Crop and Food Research staff returning from a conference in Palmerston North.
Earlier reports by the Auditor-General drew a horrified reaction from MPs, with one saying the situation was bad enough to "send chills down the spine of everyone who gets on a plane" and he would catch a train to Auckland that night.
The Auditor-General's transport sector manager, Marilyn Little, said at the time the CAA collected lots of information but did not do much about it -- "leaving you to ask...so what"?
From the audit it appeared "high-risk operators" did not get enough surveillance, she said.
The CAA denied the allegations it was not doing its job properly
Thursday May 8, 06:58 PM
Civil Aviation Authority gets good report... finally
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has responded properly to a damning coroner's report into a fatal 2003 air crash which left eight people dead, the Auditor-General's office said today.
The 2006 report was the latest in a litany of criticism against the CAA in which Christchurch Coroner Richard McElrea raised concerns about the CAA's failure to properly monitor small airlines.
Before this, the CAA was severely criticised by MPs on Parliament's transport select committee for failing to react to adverse reports by the Auditor-General's office about its lack of surveillance.
There were concerns the authority had ignored audit reports going back to 1995, though CAA denied this was true.
The Auditor-General's report released today said the CAA had either addressed the coroner's recommendations or responded to them in a proper manner.
The report was less enthusiastic about the Ministry of Transport's response to the coroner saying its monitoring and assessment of the CAA's performance was not up to scratch.
The report said an audit on the CAA's approach to certification and surveillance would be carried out later this year.
The coroner's report followed the crash of a twin-engined Piper Navajo Chieftain which plunged into farmland 2km short of Christchurch Airport on June 6, 2003, killing pilot Michael Bannerman and seven Crop and Food Research staff returning from a conference in Palmerston North.
Earlier reports by the Auditor-General drew a horrified reaction from MPs, with one saying the situation was bad enough to "send chills down the spine of everyone who gets on a plane" and he would catch a train to Auckland that night.
The Auditor-General's transport sector manager, Marilyn Little, said at the time the CAA collected lots of information but did not do much about it -- "leaving you to ask...so what"?
From the audit it appeared "high-risk operators" did not get enough surveillance, she said.
The CAA denied the allegations it was not doing its job properly
