It would appear that:
The aircraft concerned is newly imported and has undergone major maintenance, including significant undercarriage component replacements, prior to the issue of a C of A.
The aircraft is being operated without a valid MEL.
The left inner main wheel detached during taxi, and fault indications were present on the anti-skid system. The fault indications would have persisted through the flight.
The aircraft was at or near MTOW on departure.
The left seater was one of the new hire 'professionals' brought in to 'raise the standards'.
In the light of the above:
The crew would appear to have used up all their allocation of luck for this decade, and should probably avoid crossing busy roads.
Serious problems would appear to exist in the maintenance area. The newly hired chief engineer must be tearing his hair out at the shambles he has inherited.
There appear to be problems in the operational culture with respect to use of a pseudo MEL for despatch in aircraft which do not have a valid MEL, and use of unofficial 'snag lists'. 'GA mentality' is the pejorative usually thrown about in this context, and is usually not present in this type of equipment. One wonders about practices at the Captain's previous employer.
There would appear to be immense pressure on the crews at this time, with threats to employment over minor issues.
CASA and ATSB follow-up on this incident may bring a lot of skeletons out of the closet with interesting consequences.
Rumour also has cash shortages and late pays featured.
In short, the aircraft are not the only parts of this organisation that the wheels appear to be falling off.
Last edited by dreamin'; 23rd Oct 2002 at 05:05.