CASA announces enquiry into Qantas

[Philip Argy]

This just posted on News Limited sites:

Special Qantas investigation launched




August 03, 2008
THE aviation watchdog has formed a special team to investigate Qantas amid growing public concern the airline's safety standards may have slipped.
The decision comes after the captain of a Qantas 767 flight made an emergency landing at Sydney Airport yesterday after discovering a hydraulic fluid leak.

It was the third Qantas plane in just over a week to make an emergency landing because of a mid-air fault.

On July 25, a Qantas flight was forced to make an emergency landing at Manila after a mid-air explosion tore a hole in the plane's fuselage, while on Tuesday a domestic flight was forced to return to Adelaide after a wheel bay door failed to close.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) says it has no evidence to suggest safety standards have fallen at Qantas, but is taking additional precautions following the latest incident.

"I wouldn't say we're concerned about Qantas' safety at all. In fact, we've found no evidence of safety slipping within the airline or safety standards being allowed to drop at all," CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said today.

"But we've got to be cognisant. If things happen we need to be flexible and proactive and respond to those (concerns) and that's what we're doing."

Mr Gibson said the special investigation team would examine in greater depth a range of issues such as maintenance, safety systems and the way in which Qantas had handled the recent incidents.

"We have no evidence to suggest there are problems within Qantas but we think it's prudent and wise to go in with a new special team and take an additional look at a range of operational issues within Qantas."

Mr Gibson said there was no reason for the public not to have confidence in Qantas.

"The Civil Aviation Safety Authority has been in there looking at their handling of recent incidents. We've been looking at their performance in general. We completed an audit in June ... and we've found no evidence of any problems or shortcomings within the airline.

"Cleary, there's been a number of incidents recently and it's important that we go in and double check and make sure that all the standards are being maintained."

The review will be take place over the next two weeks.