NT NEWS 15.04.2005
NT AIRLINE TO FIGHT AUDIT ALLEGATIONS
By Rebecca Hewett
An NT airline has been asked to “show cause” why it should not be permanently grounded after a special audit identified regulatory breaches.
It is understood Northern Air Charter’s company certificate was cancelled after the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) issued a “show cause” notice in January.
This would have grounded the company’s planes.
But the airline’s licence was reinstated after it appealed to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal on February 4. The stay of cancellation will hold until the matter is heard by the tribunal.
CASA spokesperson Peter Gibson confirmed the air safety regulator had taken action against the airline. But he said he could not discuss the matter as it was before the courts.
“There is regulatory action under way but it is subject to appeal, “Mr Gibson said.
“The matter is now with our legal counsel and would not be appropriate for me to comment further at this time.”
It is understood a special audit of the airline in January identified a large number of breaches.
But Northern Air Charter owner Stefan Woods said he would fight the allegations “vigorously”.
“These are administrative allegations, they have nothing to do with flight safety,” Mr Wood said.
“We believe these allegations are extremely unjust and we are looking forward to fighting it.
“We would expect to have this wrapped up quickly. I can’t comment further because I don’t want to interfere with the process.”
A date has not yet been set for the Administrative Appeals Tribunal hearing.
Please excuse transcripting typo's.