QF grounds 6 x B734s

[Luke Chittock]

Sydney, 12 August 2008

Qantas said today it would remove six B737-400 aircraft from service while it cross-checked maintenance records relating to aircraft modification work carried out at one of its Australian facilities.

The Executive General Manager of Qantas Engineering, Mr David Cox, said the issue was one of procedure, and did not have any safety implications.

"Qantas discovered an irregularity with paperwork for these aircraft during an internal integrity check of maintenance records," Mr Cox said.

"In line with our prudent response to any maintenance issue, however minor, we have elected to suspend the operation of the six aircraft while we ensure all our records are 100 per cent accurate and we have advised the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).

"We regularly check our records and detect a record keeping anomaly on average once a year.

"Having the aircraft out of service has resulted in the cancellation of three services tonight, with all affected passengers being reaccommodated on flights within two hours of their original departure time."

Issued by Qantas Corporate Communication (3802)
Email: qantasmedia@qantas.com.au