Pilots Warn Worse To Come If Takeover Succeeds
Angry
pilots called for a senate inquiry and an "urgent internal
investigation" after a Qantas ferry flight landed at Sydney
Airport, and the plane's crew discovered its emergency oxygen
system had been sealed by maintenance workers in the
Phillipines.
The aircraft was returning to Sydney after a major C-check
overhaul by Lufthansa Technik, an offshoot of Germany's
international airline, and was carrying a flight crew and possibly
other Qantas staff.
The error was noted after the Airbus A330 landed in Sydney.
Australia's Herald Sun reported a leaked maintenance report on the
Airbus, dated March 11 that said, "On investergation (sic) found
crew oxy bottle shutoff valve in the closed position and
lockwired."
A poor maintenance report of a Qantas 747-400 Jumbo from last
year in Singapore surfaced this week, as well. Both incidents have
inflamed concerns among Qantas employees and politicians of the
airline's maintenance standards -- and that those standards could
slip further if an $11.1 billion bid for the
carrier goes through.
Concerned pilots and maintenance engineers have compared the
problem to the situation Prime Minister John Howard confronted in a
smoke-filled aircraft this past weekend.
Howard was involved in a "mid-air drama" Saturday while in
southern Iraq for a surprise visit, according to Australia's
Brisbane Times. The Prime Minister's RAAF C-130 Hercules was forced
to make an emergency landing just after take-off, when the cabin
filled with smoke forcing all on board to don oxygen masks.
"If there had been smoke in the (Qantas) aircraft, the crew
would have needed that oxygen," said Captain Mike Glynn, acting
president of the Australian International Pilots Association and a
qualified A330 pilot. "This oxygen is meant to be provided to
flight crew during an emergency."
If the problem was missed during a pre-flight check, it could
have led to "potentially dire circumstances," Glynn said.
David Cox, Qantas executive general manager for engineering,
said a back-up oxygen bottle was on the aircraft during the
Manila-to-Australia flight.
"No facility is perfect, every facility has problems," he said,
arguing "it was the diligence with which maintenance issues were
managed that was what eventually counted."
He noted a "quality resolution was in play with Lufthansa
Technik." Pressed by reporters as to how this situation occurred,
Cox replied: "I don't think that's appropriate for me to speculate.
We are running an investigation with the provider. We will run it
down to root cause.
"We will not give up if we are going to use that facility again
until the specifics of that issue have been resolved."
As far as the leaked maintenance audit report is concerned, Cox
said since it details confidential information, it could become a
criminal matter.
This latest issue compounds on complaints carrier employees have
about outsourcing maintenance overseas.
According to a report in The Australian yesterday "a Qantas
investigation had raised doubts over whether maintenance carried
out on its planes overseas was meeting the airline's own standards
or those of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority."
"If the standards are not up to our expectations we will go in
and deal with that" said Cox.