SKYDRIFTER
19th Apr 2001, 18:27
CONTROL PROBLEM -
The Australian account, below, is an amazing parallel to the U.S industry. The USA national shame being in the fact that the U.S. Congress and investigative agencies have been bombarded with similar complaints for years. The complaints are punctuated by gravestones.
The USA fetish for 'proof' resulted in all the documentation any reasonable person could ask for. Yet, even with a shameful body-count, the FAA facilitates not only the unsafe flying conditions, but engages in felonies to cover up the incidents, and their root cause. Profits continue to soar.
Deregulation + privitazion = death = profits
Although the string of FAA and airline felonies have been well documented to the various investigative agencies, the result is consistent -
"Well, I mean...well, we're investigating; yeah, that's it, we're investigating."
Quite similar to McVeigh investigating the ATF at the Oklahoma bombing. At least McVeigh's victims went quickly. That's more than the FAA will grant the passengers who continue do die on their watch.
Assuming the penchant for history to repeat itself, the AMR-TWA deal will produce a nasty disaster under the microscope of the FAA.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Airlines 'out of control'
By SID MARRIS, BENJAMIN HASLEM, STEVE CREEDY and MICHELLE GILCHRIST
19apr01
THE Civil Aviation Safety Authority had lost control of the big airlines and they were effectively regulating themselves, a leaked internal CASA document claimed yesterday.
As Ansett yesterday lobbied CASA and the federal Government to keep flying, a draft CASA report on the first 767 groundings said the regulator had failed to fix problems identified by the Auditor-General two years ago and might have misled the Senate about the pace of reforms.
"The industry's level of compliance with safety legislation is no longer being actively measured by CASA," says the report, by lead auditor Brian Castle. "If the safety regulator does not have this information, the industry has already achieved self-regulation."
But the document was immediately rejected by CASA director Mick Toller and Transport Minister John Anderson, who dismissed it as a sub-standard draft riddled with "personal agendas", which had been rejected by senior CASA management in March.
After its release, a furious Mr Toller sent an urgent email to staff demanding workers identify the person whose "contemptuous act" had undermined the authority's "good work".
The leaked report came as the federal Government promised to plug a longstanding legal loophole that allowed Ansett to overlook essential maintenance and promised more funding for CASA.
Ansett also had its hopes boosted of returning its 767s into service as CASA last night finally began physical inspections of 10 grounded planes.
But CASA also yesterday told Ansett that it would lose its right to determine which manufacturers' maintenance instructions it followed, and had to implement all bulletins, for the time being.
The CASA internal report was released yesterday by Labor transport spokesman Martin Ferguson, who said it was a "damning insight into the mismanagement of the Howard Government".
Mr Ferguson said the problems with Ansett had been uncovered at Christmas, when the 767s were first grounded, but the situation was allowed to lie until creating more chaos at Easter.
"It is a further link in a chain of warnings that have been ignored by the Transport Minister," he said.
Air New Zealand-Ansett chief executive Gary Toomey travelled to Canberra for meetings yesterday with Mr Anderson and Mr Toller.
Mr Toomey said he had held "constructive talks" with CASA over its plans to head off a review of its licence before the CASA-imposed deadline of Friday.
Announcing the review of procedures introduced 10 years ago, Mr Anderson said he would write to his US counterparts to see if a system for alerting regulators to non-compulsory but important maintenance bulletins could be established.
Australia generally follows the rules set by the US Federal Aviation Authority.
Air New Zealand chairman Selywn Cushing said yesterday that it was "strange" and "curious" that CASA had grounded Ansett just before the two busiest holidays of the year. "It certainly does seem strange that the grounding came to us the day before Christmas Eve and again the day before Easter. So that's two groundings at very, very inopportune times," Sir Selwyn told New Zealand TV.
In New Zealand, Prime Minister Helen Clark said her Government would listen to any plea by Ansett to allow Singapore Airlines to raise its ownership.
The Australian account, below, is an amazing parallel to the U.S industry. The USA national shame being in the fact that the U.S. Congress and investigative agencies have been bombarded with similar complaints for years. The complaints are punctuated by gravestones.
The USA fetish for 'proof' resulted in all the documentation any reasonable person could ask for. Yet, even with a shameful body-count, the FAA facilitates not only the unsafe flying conditions, but engages in felonies to cover up the incidents, and their root cause. Profits continue to soar.
Deregulation + privitazion = death = profits
Although the string of FAA and airline felonies have been well documented to the various investigative agencies, the result is consistent -
"Well, I mean...well, we're investigating; yeah, that's it, we're investigating."
Quite similar to McVeigh investigating the ATF at the Oklahoma bombing. At least McVeigh's victims went quickly. That's more than the FAA will grant the passengers who continue do die on their watch.
Assuming the penchant for history to repeat itself, the AMR-TWA deal will produce a nasty disaster under the microscope of the FAA.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Airlines 'out of control'
By SID MARRIS, BENJAMIN HASLEM, STEVE CREEDY and MICHELLE GILCHRIST
19apr01
THE Civil Aviation Safety Authority had lost control of the big airlines and they were effectively regulating themselves, a leaked internal CASA document claimed yesterday.
As Ansett yesterday lobbied CASA and the federal Government to keep flying, a draft CASA report on the first 767 groundings said the regulator had failed to fix problems identified by the Auditor-General two years ago and might have misled the Senate about the pace of reforms.
"The industry's level of compliance with safety legislation is no longer being actively measured by CASA," says the report, by lead auditor Brian Castle. "If the safety regulator does not have this information, the industry has already achieved self-regulation."
But the document was immediately rejected by CASA director Mick Toller and Transport Minister John Anderson, who dismissed it as a sub-standard draft riddled with "personal agendas", which had been rejected by senior CASA management in March.
After its release, a furious Mr Toller sent an urgent email to staff demanding workers identify the person whose "contemptuous act" had undermined the authority's "good work".
The leaked report came as the federal Government promised to plug a longstanding legal loophole that allowed Ansett to overlook essential maintenance and promised more funding for CASA.
Ansett also had its hopes boosted of returning its 767s into service as CASA last night finally began physical inspections of 10 grounded planes.
But CASA also yesterday told Ansett that it would lose its right to determine which manufacturers' maintenance instructions it followed, and had to implement all bulletins, for the time being.
The CASA internal report was released yesterday by Labor transport spokesman Martin Ferguson, who said it was a "damning insight into the mismanagement of the Howard Government".
Mr Ferguson said the problems with Ansett had been uncovered at Christmas, when the 767s were first grounded, but the situation was allowed to lie until creating more chaos at Easter.
"It is a further link in a chain of warnings that have been ignored by the Transport Minister," he said.
Air New Zealand-Ansett chief executive Gary Toomey travelled to Canberra for meetings yesterday with Mr Anderson and Mr Toller.
Mr Toomey said he had held "constructive talks" with CASA over its plans to head off a review of its licence before the CASA-imposed deadline of Friday.
Announcing the review of procedures introduced 10 years ago, Mr Anderson said he would write to his US counterparts to see if a system for alerting regulators to non-compulsory but important maintenance bulletins could be established.
Australia generally follows the rules set by the US Federal Aviation Authority.
Air New Zealand chairman Selywn Cushing said yesterday that it was "strange" and "curious" that CASA had grounded Ansett just before the two busiest holidays of the year. "It certainly does seem strange that the grounding came to us the day before Christmas Eve and again the day before Easter. So that's two groundings at very, very inopportune times," Sir Selwyn told New Zealand TV.
In New Zealand, Prime Minister Helen Clark said her Government would listen to any plea by Ansett to allow Singapore Airlines to raise its ownership.