AirAsia: Why are they still here?

[wheels_down]

Alarm bells have been ringing for a while now, the trend of incidents continues, no action will be taken.

Keep a close eye on them folks. Stay Safe.

AIRASIA X is facing its sixth investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau in 18-months, after another incident in southeast Queensland.

Last Saturday, October 8, an AirAsia X A330 was diverted from the Gold Coast to Brisbane when its wing flaps failed to fully deploy.

As wing flaps work to slow down an aircraft on landing, it was feared the aircraft would overshoot the runway at Coolangatta and plough into traffic.

Instead flight D7-200 was diverted to Brisbane where fire trucks were placed on standby and other aircraft cleared from the runway ahead of the landing.

Other incidents under investigation include:

* a “loss of separation” involving and AirAsia X A330 and a Jetstar plane over the Gold Coast in July;

* an engine shutdown en route from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur, resulting in a diversion to Melbourne on August 16;

* a taxiing incident in Melbourne last month, in which an AirAsia X aircraft began taxiing before the pushback tug and engine moved clear;

* a descent below minimum safe altitude at Gold Coast Airport on September 11.

Aviation expert, Neil Hansford said the problems were “a direct reflection of the quality of training, the quality of supervision and the quality of the checks being done”.

“All of those incidents are inexcusable. If it was one of the smaller Australian carriers, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority would ground them,” Mr Hansford said.
A CASA spokesman declined to discuss AirAsia X but indicated there was no extra attention being given to the budget airline.

Mr Hansford asked if they were waiting for a plane crash.

“CASA needs to say (to AirAsia X) “you lose your flight approval to come to Australia, until you raise standards”,” he said.

Despite its recent history, AirAsia X continues to grow in popularity with Australian travellers.

Figures from the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics’ International Airline Activity report, show AirAsia X recorded 46 per cent growth in the year to July, to claim a 4.1 per cent share of all overseas travellers in and out of Australia.

An AirAsia Berhad spokesman said the airline would celebrate its tenth birthday next year, and was proud that its first route in 2007 was to the Gold Coast.

“The safety of all guests and our crew is our utmost priority at all times,” he said.

“AirAsia remains committed to ensuring its compliance to all safety and security regulations.”

http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/airasia-x-facing-multiple-safety-investigations-in-australia/news-story/1ae907cc123b72d8d53e65d11a69e402

[no one]

It is a joke they have not been suspended operating into Oz yet!
Where is this article? Reference please, thanks.
Cheers.



Here: http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/airasia-x-facing-multiple-safety-investigations-in-australia/news-story/1ae907cc123b72d8d53e65d11a69e402

Tail Wheel

[neville_nobody]

To be fair a flap failure and a engine failure are not necessarily anyone's fault stuff does go wrong in aviation.

The reality is that it would be almost impossible politically for CASA to ban one airline from Australia even if they wanted to. There would be blowback from every department in the government.

Garuda managed to keep flying to Australia whilst banned by the EU and killing Australian journalists in a preventable accident.

[LeeJoyce]

Mate witnessed the taxi incident

He said it was very very close

Actually he's the one who made the initial report

I'm spewing I was on the other side of the terminal

[Chocks Away]

Just take a look at the crews as they pass through the terminal!
Majority are inexperienced kids/cadets, who are poorly trained but all about the gold braid and playing games on their phone inflight. Trust me, I've seen it first hand.
A lot of it is to do with the Asian rush / on time performance culture also.
Sadly this airline is just another one on the growing list of Carriers I refuse to fly on now... and it's a big list!

[airdualbleedfault]

You're all bloody racists!! :}

[Chocks Away]

:}
There's ONE race in the world and it's the human race.
Most of the people around the world would call it "realist", calling a spade a spade... unless you're from the left socialist/Marxist minority that's so vocal in Australia... but we'll leave that for the Jet Blast section on here.
I'll always commend (& have!) professional performance; service & treatment no matter what country they're from but many Asians are some of the most discriminatory people on the planet... just try getting into one of their many legacy airlines, doing their "Medicals" or living there...
This carrier still remains on my "List" :p

[Metro man]

As wing flaps work to slow down an aircraft on landing, it was feared the aircraft would overshoot the runway at Coolangatta and plough into traffic.

A bit dramatic, a flap failure is a procedure regularly practised and tested in the simulator. Landing distance calculations are performed and if a longer runway is needed you divert.

Similar incidents have happened with Australian airlines recently including:

Jetstar engine shutdown and diversion to Guam.
Jetstar emergency landing due to haze in cabin.
Qantas emergency descent due pressurisation failure.
Qantas A330 dispatching with required navigation equipment U/S

[Traffic_Is_Er_Was]

it was feared the aircraft would overshoot the runway at Coolangatta and plough into traffic.
Instead flight D7-200 was diverted to Brisbane
And they are getting pilloried for doing the right thing?

and other aircraft cleared from the runway ahead of the landing.
As opposed to all the normal landings where the other aircraft are left cluttering up the runway.

I wonder if Mr Hansford was calling for QF to be grounded after QF32's engine failure and diversion. After all, such incidents are "inexcusable". Fair's fair?

Christ, does no one hold b/s journalism like this accountable?

[maggot]

Similar incidents have happened with Australian airlines recently including:

Jetstar engine shutdown and diversion to Guam.
Jetstar emergency landing due to haze in cabin.
Qantas emergency descent due pressurisation failure.
Qantas A330 dispatching with required navigation equipment U/S

Yep things are always 'happening'
However it'd be the strike rate considering how few flights (relative to your comparison) in our jurisdiction... and i do wonder if we hear all of what goes on

[no one]

unless you're from the left socialist/Marxist minority that's so vocal in Australia...

Unlike the quiet, fascist right, who are not vocal at all...
Love how people have beef and need to express the political opinions when no one asked

[Centaurus]

a flap failure is a procedure regularly practised and tested in the simulator

I wouldn't say "regularly practiced in the simulator. " Once or twice every three years during cyclic training, maybe. Depends on the company policy.

[Boe787]

Why would it be nearly impossible polictically for CASA to ban them for a period?
EU did it, and i recall USA also banned Garuda for a period?

[josephfeatherweight]

Why would it be nearly impossible polictically for CASA to ban them for a period?
EU did it, and i recall USA also banned Garuda for a period?
Because we don't want to jeopardise our overflight permissions for the country just north of us...
Something that presents less issue for those operating out of the EU or North America.

[neville_nobody]

Why would it be nearly impossible polictically for CASA to ban them for a period?
EU did it, and i recall USA also banned Garuda for a period?

Well the FAA have clout, CASA doesn't. How was it that Garuda was banned in the US and EU but not Australia?

Just have a look at what happened to the beef trade a few years ago when the regulator caved into the bleeding hearts.

It would play out along the lines of:

-Airline gets banned.
-They then lobby their government who lobby the Australian foreign minister who calls the head of CASA directly
-Their own government could retaliate against VH registered airlines
-The airline also lobby Airservices Australia/Airports/Tourism Council who have lost revenue who in turn lobby the government
-They lobby the ACCC saying it's anti competitive.
-The airline then leaks embarrassing incidents/accidents that have happened to Australian Airlines or other established carriers to friendly newspaper
-They play the racist card in the papers.
-If the airline has a training school here they put the wind up the local member by threatening to shut it down and costing X local jobs etc

CASA then have to front uo to a Senate Inquiry into why they grounded XYZ airline and have all their processes and decisions put under the microscope.

So it's easier to just let them in and if they crash blame it on the airline and or the pilots.

[CurtainTwitcher]

I think it's pretty simple, see that large block of airspace to the north and northwest of Australia? For Australian based carriers to fly around that would be quite an economic burden. We ban them, they ban us, and we probably need to transit that airspace more than they need our market.

Its call leverage, they have it in spades. Realpolitik

[PoppaJo]

They can't blame the weather for this one. What a joke.

Incident: AirAsia A320 at Kota Bharu on Nov 1st 2016, runway excursion during backtrack (http://www.avherald.com/h?article=4a0293d1&opt=0)

http://i68.tinypic.com/2h3wu4o.jpg

[Capn Bloggs]

"Tracking..."

[halas]

SLOPS? :}

(Wrong way l know)

Rego: AFU Ai Fu*k Up!

halas

[Duck Pilot]

Aussie tall poppy syndrome has raised its ugly head again. God bless - I'm religious apparently, well I've been told that on this forum!!

Some people just love to throw negative splat on foreign pilots when they make an error in judgment - show some respect if you consider yourself as a professional aviator.

It's only a matter of time before an Australian carrier has a haul loss resulting in major fatalities.

Some constructive positive comments would not be inappropriate from you subject matter experts.

[Metro man]

Shouldn't be doing anymore than 10kts during a 180 on the runway, as the cockpit goes over the edge during the turn there isn't much margin for error and this is a procedure best done slowly and carefully. Speed can be difficult to judge especially at night so monitoring the ground speed readout is essential.

[4runner]

Shouldn't be doing anymore than 10kts during a 180 on the runway, as the cockpit goes over the edge during the turn there isn't much margin for error and this is a procedure best done slowly and carefully. Speed can be difficult to judge especially at night so monitoring the ground speed readout is essential.

Good armchair advice. Monitor the instruments while taxiing instead of looking outside so that one doesn't make an excursion...

[Metro man]

It takes less than 1 second to glance at the instruments and check the speed. I fly in the left hand seat of the A320 and 180' turns on a runway with no turn pad are Captains only for us.

The procedure is given in the FCOM and I've done it more times than I can remember, without going off into the grass.

Probably not a problem for Flight Sim gamers.

[Bug Smasher Smasher]

It's only a matter of time before an Australian carrier has a haul loss resulting in major fatalities.
Really? You bag out other people for being unconstructive and negative and then you make this comment.
Care to elaborate on your thoughts as to why this is so inevitable?
PS It's "hull" loss.

[Duck Pilot]

Bug smasher, Sadly it will happen, it's not a matter of if, it's when? Only way to prevent an accident is to put everything on the ground.

We need to be working globally together on safety, not independently.

[wheels_down]

D!ck Pilot you didn't answer the question, please elaborate on why you think QF/VA/JQ/TT are about to destroy an aircraft?

[AviatoR21]

I thought Australian pilots were the best in the world and never make mistakes? Only management does? :ok:

[Duck Pilot]

Never predicted that any specific operator will loose one, could happen to anyone.

If some people seriously believe that an Australian aircraft will never be involved in an accident in the future, we then have a few complacency issues within our industry.

Enough said!

Fly safe
DP

[Hogger60]

Interesting that the article doesn't include the most preventable of all: Incorrect entry of the POS Lat/Long in SYD, resulting in the aircraft. Seen them blatantly disregard NOTAM about rolling through to K in Goldie when landing. Nothing racist about not trusting this airline, merely stating what happens. They regularly have problems in Oz.

[AviatoR21]

Hogger60 - Just like the time a QF 737 landed in BNE on 19 and took the second rapid even though it was NOTAM'd out! I think there were a few go arounds that evening. To make matters worse, Tiger did it the next day.....

[Orange future]

"Incorrect entry of the POS Lat/Long in SYD"

Care to remember the QF 744 that launched out of SYD with the IR's flashing "align" because the skipper didnt know how they worked?????

[Ken Borough]

And remember when a Qantas pilot entered the lat and long for Gate nnn at Gatwick instead the same numbered gate at Heathrow? Service departed, dumped tens of tonnes of fuel to return to LHR only to discover a very embarrassing error. Even the Sky Gods are fallible. :ok:

[compressor stall]

Yes, mistakes happen but at least QF didn't make it worse....

As for why are Air Asia still here? Because if we banned them, then suddenly clearances into the Malaysian FIR might be very very hard obtain, making ops in and out of Singapore entertaining.

Similar reason why Garuda are here.

[Icarus2001]

So when Europe and the US banned Garuda did US and European carriers have right of entry issues or overfly rights issues?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedoms_of_the_air

[Ken Borough]

Icarus2001,

So far as I know, "no". Loss of Indonesian overflight rights to Australian carriers would be a significant impediment to their operations to the Middle East,India, South East Asia, North Asia and Japan.

[compressor stall]

Freedom of the air is all well and good until:

1. Ostensibly "random" audits always find things. We all know that an auditor can find anything if he digs deep enough, or are creative in interpretations
2. Every so often, there is a clearance that is denied to an enroute aircraft due to some magical administrative error.

As for the Americans, how many US airlines go through Malaysia / Indo as a percentage of their routes?

And same for the Europeans. Additionally, an individual airline there has the ability to say it wasn't actually us, it was the [insert other Euro country here] that drove the ban.

If QF was to be denied access to Indo airspace it would probably bankrupt them.

[Icarus2001]

http://jakartagreater.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/fir.jpg

I really find it hard to believe that IF CASA ever developed the belief that an overseas carrier was "unsafe" to the point of restricting their operations into Australia that said country would restrict access to their FIR, that is a whole new level of belligerence.

Air Asia is a Malaysian based company (D7 for X) so theories about the Indonesian FIR do not really apply but i take the broader point in regard to Indonesian carriers (QZ included).

[AU-501]

This thread is drifting a little. I will say this about the ignorant posts of aviation in Indonesia
General and RPT. When one considers a couple of factors regarding ops in all Indo Fir's being the amount ( quantity/frequency) and the conditions ( met ) and how the atc up there do a pretty good job of administering and controlling. The output of what aviation achieves in the region is actually bloody impressive. Air Asia is just another kettle of fish and you could not pay me a handsome sum to fly with them.....anywhere. Do not mix this up or tar the indo's with the same brush. They are not the same.