CASA Media Release - Friday, 19 January 2001
Firm but fair treatment for Ansett
Ansett Airlines will be treated firmly but fairly during the investigation of missed inspections on seven of their 767 aircraft.
CASA Director Mick Toller gave this undertaking today in the wake of the overnight grounding of three Ansett 767s.
Mr Toller says the investigation of Ansett's mistakes will be thorough and will not be rushed, with an interim report due at the end of this month.
He says the three grounded aircraft will not be allowed back into service until the full range of structural inspections are complete and any faults are fixed.
"CASA told Ansett to ground the aircraft after cracks were found in structural components in two aeroplanes," Mr Toller says.
"This was a cautious decision by CASA as there was no immediate risk to safety.
"Aircraft are designed to cope with minor structural cracking which will not lead to a short-term failure of components in the airframe.
"But at the same time it is important to identify any cracking at an early stage and carry out the appropriate authorised repairs.
"That's what Ansett is now doing and when this process is complete the aircraft will return to normal service."
Mr Toller defended CASA's handling of the Ansett 767 issue, saying strict conditions were imposed on the airline before the aircraft were allowed to return to service before Christmas.
"CASA actually insisted on tougher conditions than those proposed by the manufacturer, including extra inspections at shorter intervals.
"We believe our approach was conservative and ensured the full range of structural inspections were carried out as quickly as possible without the risk of any shortcuts. It must be remembered that Ansett voluntarily grounded their aircraft when they realised there was a problem and worked with CASA to find a solution.
"CASA always made it clear to Ansett that if any problems were found on any of the aircraft that all the aircraft waiting to complete their full inspections would be grounded."
Transcript of media conference
Media contact
Peter Gibson
ph 02 6217 1015
mobile 0419 296 446
Ref: MR0102