Repairer of Qantas planes has problems.

[Splitpin44]

Repairer of Qantas planes 'has problems' (http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/newsbusiness/aap/8264007/repairer-of-qantas-planes-has-problems)

:yuk:

[stubby jumbo]

The real KICKER in this story is this bit in RED.


The same inspection noted that "throughout the repair station numerous personnel were not aware of which airline they are providing maintenance for" and which country's regulations applied.

Hey.....can some Journo-ask AJ about this story today at the Press Club and how it relates to our "Safety reputation" they all keep banging on about.

If my memory serves me correctly....this was the same outfit that were using metal staples all over an aircraft C-check a few years back.

WHEN ARE THESE CLOWNS GOING TO WAKE UP?
WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR THEM TO REALISE THAT WE ARE RISKING PAX AND CREW LIVES?

[Tankengine]

Actually the bit in red does NOT worry me [other stuff does]
The staff should do the same standard job to all.

I don't change my flying style depending on who is down the back!:ugh:

[neville_nobody]

Does CASA audit them or do they just rubber stamp whatever QF wants to do?

[waren9]

So long as the repairer follows what Airbus or Boeing want, would be nearer the point I'd have thought.

The rest is paperwork.

[Kangaroo Court]

Really scary!! Probably one of the most technically correct journo' reports recently on our industry too.

[Ngineer]

Really scary when you consider that this revelation is coming from an organisation that finds it acceptable to cut out a bear strap with a hacksaw!!

SBS Dateline | A Wing and a Prayer (http://www.sbs.com.au/dateline/story/transcript/id/601201/n/A-Wing-and-a-Prayer)

[73to91]

QANTAS says it no longer conducts heavy maintenance at a Lufthansa Technik facility in The Philippines that has caused concern at the US Federal Aviation Administration. According to a Bloomberg report, US FAA inspection records show the facility repeatedly had difficulty in following US regulations on matters ranging from record-keeping to calibrating tools used to make repairs. Also cited were recurring problems with training workers to FAA standards and the lack of familiarity with US regulations of Lufthansa Technik Philippines in-house inspectors. The records cover inspections from 2008 through to last month. Lufthansa said none of the problems cited in the inspections had affected safety. The facility is reconfiguring some A380 interiors for Qantas, but the airline has moved A330 maintenance to Brisbane.
reported in The Australian today as well.
Short haul | The Australian (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/short-haul/story-e6frg966-1226080848180)

[Connaught]

Hate to say it

but at the end of the day, the facility has been approved at some time meeting regulations for the aviation authority of the approving nation

botttom line

work certified and done on time - legally not qantas' problem anymore


the problem is with CASA

i have seen instances of companies in clear violation and 'negotiate and bargain with the regulator and achieve essentially a slap on the wrist - this is the wrong part - compliance shouldn't be negotiated

[Collando]

So reconfiguring the A 380s isn't considered maintenance!!!!l nice spin/lies, the modifications carried out there Is most certainly consisered and regulated as maintenance.
Bring the reconfigs back to Australia,where it will be done professionally.

[Going Boeing]

Collando, I totally agree with you. These mods, if performed badly, have dangerous consequences just like scheduled maintenance.

I believe that the contract went to LT Manila as a result of the industrial politics that AJ is playing with the ALAEA - he doesn't want any union to have a "win".

[Fris B. Fairing]

So Qantas isn't the only iconic aviation brand that has been trashed.

[FlexibleResponse]

A Qantas spokesman said the Australian airline had done work with Lufthansa Technik in the past and would continue to in the future.

"Later this year Lufthansa Technik will start refitting the interior of 12 of our planes including changing seats and TVs," he told AAP.

"This is quite different to aircraft or engine maintenance."

But wasn't Swissair Flight 111 MD-11 brought down in September 1998 in a fiery crash with the loss of all 229 lives due to arcing in the "inflight entertainment system" that did not trip the safety circuit breakers?

How quickly some forget the lessons of history. With all due respect, most senior managers in Qantas could not be expected to know anything that technical about airliners.

Refitting interiors has nothing to do with flight safety of course...a bit like changing the colour of the first class napkins really...

[Wunwing]

Maybe the managers who made this wise decision should make a trip to Peggies Cove ,south of Halifax, Canada and stand in front of the Swissair memorial which sits on a windswept rock with the Atlantic breeze blowing in.After that go to the museum in Halifax and look at the display there.

Then say after me,"there is no safety issues involved in interior refits".

I've been there and stood in front of both, its a very chilling experience.

Wunwing