Sunfish, the Daily Telegraph ran this story yesterday which is pretty close to the mark:
Aircraft maintenance threat to safety
By Charles Starmer-Smith (Filed: 27/08/2005)
Engineers say that economy drives on European aircraft maintenance are putting passengers' lives at risk and contributing to an increasing number of "incidents".
"The financial wizards are running the show, to the detriment of safety," Robert Alway, a spokesman for the Association of Licensed Aircraft Engineers (ALAE), said.
"In a never-ending quest to save money, maintenance is being squeezed to the limit. Reports are showing that incidents [such as minor technical defaults] are on the increase: incidents are a short step away from accidents."
Last year 428 people died on commercial flights; this year more than 600 have already lost their lives. A recent study by Cranfield University found that maintenance error was the primary cause in five per cent of aircraft losses and a contributory cause in about 17 per cent. The Association represents around 2,000 airline engineers, based mainly in Europe.
"Some engineers have complained of being coerced into overlooking faults and releasing an aircraft back into service against their wishes, after being threatened with losing their job," Mr Alway said.
'Sign it or I will get someone else to' is more common than most industry observers would like to admit," he added.
It is legal for an aircraft to depart with minor faults as long as they remain within the Minimum Equipment List (which states which faults can go unserviced and for how long), but Mr Alway argues that the lists of problems are getting longer.
"This could mean that in an emergency the pilots are put under more stress because one system or more is not available," he added.
A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the UK's independent aviation regulator, said that he had seen no evidence of any UK airlines cutting corners on maintenance or safety.
"The UK has one of the best airline safety records in the world and the legal requirements on maintenance and safety are very stringent," he said.
"We complete regular audits, monitoring and spot checks to ensure that all UK airlines meet a recognised safety management process. We have seen no reduction in standards and safety remains the number one priority."
Last week, Telegraph Travel reported that some pilots have voiced concerns that economic pressures are contributing to a rising number of accidents.
On Wednesday, more than 40 people died when a Tans Airline 737 crashed into the Amazonian jungle on an internal flight in Peru - the third serious airline accident in the past two weeks.
The cause of the crash is not yet clear. Investigators were this week examining the safety records of Helios Airways, based in Cyprus, after a 737 hit a hillside near Athens on August 14, killing all 121 passengers. The Colombian government has halted flights by West Caribbean Airways following the deaths of 160 people when another 737 crashed in Venezuela on August 16.
The European Commission announced last week that it was considering publishing a blacklist of airlines and aircraft subject to bans or restrictions in any of the EU's 25 member states.
However, Mr Alway said that such a list would be of little help to passengers. "If passengers did react to a safety record when making the decision over who to fly with, then unfortunately that would indicate that it is too late and innocent people have already suffered."
He added that most air travellers will remain unaware of the standards of the airline's safety and maintenance checks.
"The average passenger is oblivious to an ever-growing list of defects, such as delayed engine maintenance or ignored corrosion," he said.