Post by corsair67 on Nov 1, 2006 18:49:13 GMT 12
From The Australian.
Air watchdog 'failed to act before disaster'
Steve Creedy, Aviation writer
November 01, 2006.
THE air safety watchdog has been accused of incompetence after documents revealed it uncovered problems with the airline involved in the Lockhart River air disaster on at least three occasions in the four years leading up to the crash.
Documents tabled yesterday in federal parliament revealed that Civil Aviation Safety Authority audits conducted in 2001, 2004 and February last year found "ongoing compliance and structural problems" with Brisbane-based operator Lessbrook, trading as Transair.
Transair was operating the twin-engine Metroliner plane for Queensland airline Aero-Tropics in May last year when it slammed into a cloud-covered mountain in north Queensland, killing 15 people in the nation's worst air crash in four decades.
The documents also revealed that an audit 10 months after the crash found 14 areas of non-compliance, including problems with maintenance records, flight manuals and maintenance training.
Opposition transport spokesman Kerry O'Brien tabled the documents after CASA revealed in a Senate committee on Monday that it had moved last week to ground Transair by cancelling its licence to operate.
It did this without informing the public and after the carrier was given six months to fix the problems. The airline will be allowed to continuing flying while it appeals the decision.
Fiona Norris, whose husband, Paul, was killed in the crash, said the tabled document highlighted CASA's incompetence.
"Why were they still allowed to operate?" she said.
"Why wasn't something done earlier to actually bring them into line? Clearly, they found all these compliance and structural problems but allowed them to continue on their way. It's very distressing."
Senator O'Brien said the revelations that CASA was aware of non-compliance by Transair as far back as 2001 underscored the need for a full Senate inquiry into the watchdog. "That CASA knew about these breaches beginning in 2001 and, even when faced with the tragedy of 15 deaths last year, took nearly 12months to act is proof that CASA is out of control," he said.
CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said the problems found before the Lockhart crash were not as serious as those that emerged this year.
"The magnitude of the issues being raised previous to this year were lower and therefore more appropriately dealt with using things like requests for corrective action," he said.
Mr Gibson said the issues escalated this year and CASA had elevated its action to an enforceable voluntary undertaking and then a "show cause" notice before moving to cancel Transair's licence. But CASA had found no obvious links between the problems at Transair and the Lockhart accident.
Air watchdog 'failed to act before disaster'
Steve Creedy, Aviation writer
November 01, 2006.
THE air safety watchdog has been accused of incompetence after documents revealed it uncovered problems with the airline involved in the Lockhart River air disaster on at least three occasions in the four years leading up to the crash.
Documents tabled yesterday in federal parliament revealed that Civil Aviation Safety Authority audits conducted in 2001, 2004 and February last year found "ongoing compliance and structural problems" with Brisbane-based operator Lessbrook, trading as Transair.
Transair was operating the twin-engine Metroliner plane for Queensland airline Aero-Tropics in May last year when it slammed into a cloud-covered mountain in north Queensland, killing 15 people in the nation's worst air crash in four decades.
The documents also revealed that an audit 10 months after the crash found 14 areas of non-compliance, including problems with maintenance records, flight manuals and maintenance training.
Opposition transport spokesman Kerry O'Brien tabled the documents after CASA revealed in a Senate committee on Monday that it had moved last week to ground Transair by cancelling its licence to operate.
It did this without informing the public and after the carrier was given six months to fix the problems. The airline will be allowed to continuing flying while it appeals the decision.
Fiona Norris, whose husband, Paul, was killed in the crash, said the tabled document highlighted CASA's incompetence.
"Why were they still allowed to operate?" she said.
"Why wasn't something done earlier to actually bring them into line? Clearly, they found all these compliance and structural problems but allowed them to continue on their way. It's very distressing."
Senator O'Brien said the revelations that CASA was aware of non-compliance by Transair as far back as 2001 underscored the need for a full Senate inquiry into the watchdog. "That CASA knew about these breaches beginning in 2001 and, even when faced with the tragedy of 15 deaths last year, took nearly 12months to act is proof that CASA is out of control," he said.
CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said the problems found before the Lockhart crash were not as serious as those that emerged this year.
"The magnitude of the issues being raised previous to this year were lower and therefore more appropriately dealt with using things like requests for corrective action," he said.
Mr Gibson said the issues escalated this year and CASA had elevated its action to an enforceable voluntary undertaking and then a "show cause" notice before moving to cancel Transair's licence. But CASA had found no obvious links between the problems at Transair and the Lockhart accident.
