Capt Claret
31st Aug 2013, 04:52
Abbott’s mystery flying airline in serious incident
BEN SANDILANDS | AUG 30, 2013 3:47PM
An Alliance F-100, which is slightly larger than an F-70: Wikipedia Commons
An Alliance Airlines F-70 of a type being chartered by Opposition leader Tony Abbott for ‘magical mystery tour’ election campaign flights for the captive media was involved in a ‘serious incident’ at Newcastle Airport (Williamtown) on Monday night.
Crikey understand Abbott wasn’t on board at the time, nor is it clear if any of his entourage and media were also onboard or even if it was flying under charter to the Coalition at the time, but the ATSB is conducting an inquiry.
At 6.40 pm the jet, which was chartered for a short flight to Sydney, attempted to take off while lined up with the runway edge lights instead of the centre line.
As described by this entry in the Aviation Herald the mistake was detected at low speed and the takeoff abandoned.
This is a serious incident that never led to serious consequences. The risk was that the jet could have become unstable if the gear was broken or directional control was impaired or other damage caused by running over an unprepared surface.
Alliance is trusted by the Coalition to convey media and members of the Abbott entourage and perhaps the leader himself around the country. Regardless of the exact relationship the campaign flights may or may not have had to this part of its fleet, this incident isn’t ‘a good look’ for the airline to use one of Abbott’s favourite phrases.
If the election outcome is to be decided by a fireball, it needs to happen at the ballot boxes tomorrow week, and not in a campaign plane crash.
But fear not. The ATSB is undertaking one of its celebratedly transparent inquiries, like the Pel-Air farce, led by a Commissioner in Martin Dolan that the members of a Senate committee doesn’t trust, and overseen by a Minister with an apparent contempt for the committee members, and proper process in the ‘independent’ safety investigator.
There but for the grace of the Deity, go I. :ooh:
BEN SANDILANDS | AUG 30, 2013 3:47PM
An Alliance F-100, which is slightly larger than an F-70: Wikipedia Commons
An Alliance Airlines F-70 of a type being chartered by Opposition leader Tony Abbott for ‘magical mystery tour’ election campaign flights for the captive media was involved in a ‘serious incident’ at Newcastle Airport (Williamtown) on Monday night.
Crikey understand Abbott wasn’t on board at the time, nor is it clear if any of his entourage and media were also onboard or even if it was flying under charter to the Coalition at the time, but the ATSB is conducting an inquiry.
At 6.40 pm the jet, which was chartered for a short flight to Sydney, attempted to take off while lined up with the runway edge lights instead of the centre line.
As described by this entry in the Aviation Herald the mistake was detected at low speed and the takeoff abandoned.
This is a serious incident that never led to serious consequences. The risk was that the jet could have become unstable if the gear was broken or directional control was impaired or other damage caused by running over an unprepared surface.
Alliance is trusted by the Coalition to convey media and members of the Abbott entourage and perhaps the leader himself around the country. Regardless of the exact relationship the campaign flights may or may not have had to this part of its fleet, this incident isn’t ‘a good look’ for the airline to use one of Abbott’s favourite phrases.
If the election outcome is to be decided by a fireball, it needs to happen at the ballot boxes tomorrow week, and not in a campaign plane crash.
But fear not. The ATSB is undertaking one of its celebratedly transparent inquiries, like the Pel-Air farce, led by a Commissioner in Martin Dolan that the members of a Senate committee doesn’t trust, and overseen by a Minister with an apparent contempt for the committee members, and proper process in the ‘independent’ safety investigator.
There but for the grace of the Deity, go I. :ooh: