TAAE about to bite dust?

[d_concord]

Wingnuts,

TAAE didn't go titsup because of CASA, they wen't titsup despite them.

You can't blame CASA for the fact that these people bought an aircraft which was in effect full of bogus parts. If TAAE had done the job correctly they would have paid a price that reflected the condition of the aircraft and fixed it up correctly. A lot like buying a C172 with a run out engine. Most people wouldn't pay the same price as one with a part life or new engine. CASA shouldn't have allowed this aircraft to fly just to assist these people, every other operator has to toe the line.

You also can't blame CASA for the MEL's. The company tried to grow so fast they just couldn't keep up and didn't have the resources in house. I think the ex CASA ex Ansett person at the top found out it's a lot harder in the real world without the support of dozens of specialist personnel. I'm sure he also found out that it's a lot easier to criticise from the CASA side than actually get in and do the job. I'm also sure that he came across the limitations of the rest of the senior management pretty quick as well. It get's hard to do things when people start screaming for money and moral drops and all your getting is BS out of management.

You also can't blame CASA for the company going broke. The fact is that the company has no banks as creditors in the report given out last week and you would have to assume they had no financial facilities with the banks, they put in little capital if any and right from the outset they set about using the creditors money to try and run the business. CASA should have looked at the financial viability of the company in terms of maintaining standards and safety and there has been no suggestion that they didn't or that the operations weren't OK.

What you can blame CASA for is most of the industry knew this was happening for quite some time and that clearly the company and the crews were stressed and that they didn't step in earlier to assess the situation.

The reality is that CASA cut them more slack than they would have given normally and you would have to think that that was because of the ex CASA now chief pilot without any experience running this type of show. That's a concern in it's inconsitency. Most of the industry has been hamstrung in trying to get new aircraft into the fleet let alone everything else.

As I said, TAAE failed despite CASA not because of them. CASA had no involvement in the actual financial failure of TAAE. It was doomed from the start.

If I take the Circular to Creditors on face value the Chief Pilot is in fact employed by TAAE. How does that work with the AOC held in the name of Aeromarine Consulting. Did Aeromarine in fact meet the requirements to exercise it's privilidges of the AOC. Does this in fact breach the borrowed AOC regs and does it continue to under the administration.

What CASA needs to do is to regulate within its' own charter to be fair, impartial and consistent in it's own duties. This is what frustrates most of the industry. If CASA had insisted that this company meet all the requirements as they are laid down, then right from the start it would have been evident why their pricing was so different from those other establised operators that tendered. CASA in fact rewarded the party taking the shortcuts.

In terms of AAE, they have certainly got themselves in this position. They let a major contract to a company and people of no substance and have exposed their whole network. Your right Willie, the senior management of AAE and the relationship to one of the directors of TAAE should be looked at by the Board. The transaction smells. I'm with you LFS.