Steve Purvinas, legend
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Darwin
Posts: 339
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I know many “enthusiasts” who comment on issues associated with aviation who lack the in depth technical knowledge to do so.
I just want to make sure you are not in that boat.
I didn't know there was going to be a vetting process otherwise I would have dressed more smartly.
Last edited by MickG0105; 2nd Nov 2019 at 09:28. Reason: Smart ar$e comment added
So having no idea what the pickle fork is, having read a little on the global site about pickles...
What happens if the pickle cracks and fails?
I dare say you end up in a pickle, more of a pickle than the current state of what if? It just seems to be a proper prickle
of a position. Did Peter Piper pull a pickle???
What happens if the pickle cracks and fails?
I dare say you end up in a pickle, more of a pickle than the current state of what if? It just seems to be a proper prickle
of a position. Did Peter Piper pull a pickle???
This is still the exploratory phase of dealing with the pickle fork cracking issue. Boeing are assembling data on the scope, severity and timing of this matter. Nobody yet knows definitively what the lower time limits are for cracking damage.
What I think we can say, based on the apparent refusal of Qantas to inspect early, is that they are not a proactive contributor to the resolution of this safety issue beyond their legal responsibility, which of course they will discharge.
Draw your own conclusions about Qantas commitments to safety beyond their legal requirements which they no doubt meet.
To be fair, in my day I’m not sure we would have looked either, unless directed.
What I think we can say, based on the apparent refusal of Qantas to inspect early, is that they are not a proactive contributor to the resolution of this safety issue beyond their legal responsibility, which of course they will discharge.
Draw your own conclusions about Qantas commitments to safety beyond their legal requirements which they no doubt meet.
To be fair, in my day I’m not sure we would have looked either, unless directed.
Catching up on this thread.
I’m not a 737 line driver, but this post stood out to me as a message to all engineers. If only passengers understood what it was that you do every time you go go to work.:
I’m not a 737 line driver, but this post stood out to me as a message to all engineers. If only passengers understood what it was that you do every time you go go to work.:
And to all the Engineers reading this thread..thank you from a 73 Line Driver, our trust in your work is, as always, total, our trust in Management..zero.
And to you Steve - keep fighting the good fight mate. Thanks very much for being able to provide a bit more context to what was reported in the news too - some of that is genuinely shocking considering ‘the company has built its entire reputation on its safety record’. It’s a shame the mainstream media don’t give you the right of reply as I am sure the general public would be far from impressed with QF and those individual ‘managers’ that were rolled out in front of the cameras, especially if they knew the specifics of what you have said here.
AD says it all
For all of those on here who continue to personally attack Steve,why not spend your time actually reading the AD & understanding the risks the manufacturer is outlining if cracks are present.
It clearly says that loss of control is possible.
If after reading this you still think you know better,go & buy yourself & your family a ticket on 1 of these aircraft & put a copy on here.
It clearly says that loss of control is possible.
If after reading this you still think you know better,go & buy yourself & your family a ticket on 1 of these aircraft & put a copy on here.
In an Australian aviation world I inhabit, an engineer replacing a consumable pump spline, noticed it was slightly different to others he had seen. It had a shamfer on one end. The engineer went and checked the bin and found other empty bags meaning that other aircraft had been fitted with new splines overnight during routine maintenance and had subsequently flown away from base and were at other destinations.
No one else had noticed this slight parts difference. The engineer went to his supervisor who contacted me, I was the client with lots of people to move, these were contracted aircraft. We agreed to stop operations and ground the aircraft until we could work out if the parts conformed to OEM specification, although they were sourced from the OEM. it transpired that the shamfer had been introduced to make the part easier to insert. The OEM thought the change so small that no one would notice.
We received the OK from the OEM and the regulator after 16 hours to continue flight operations. The whole exercise had a $200k+ cost to us as the client with ongoing delays, employee overtime and ad hoc charter. Although it’s what we expect from contractors, we wrote a thank you letter to the engineer concerned for his diligence and expertise and gave him and the contractor a safety award for embracing both their own speak up if you are unsure and our own stop for safety culture.
The cost? We didn’t care about the cost, we just ate it.
Steve, it was probably one of your members. You probably didn’t hear about it. Neither should you really need to. Reporting any defect should be all be part of a normal working day in a safe culture.
I am sure all of your members would report a crack if they see one. It would be a brave and stupid operator or airline that didn’t support you 100%
No one else had noticed this slight parts difference. The engineer went to his supervisor who contacted me, I was the client with lots of people to move, these were contracted aircraft. We agreed to stop operations and ground the aircraft until we could work out if the parts conformed to OEM specification, although they were sourced from the OEM. it transpired that the shamfer had been introduced to make the part easier to insert. The OEM thought the change so small that no one would notice.
We received the OK from the OEM and the regulator after 16 hours to continue flight operations. The whole exercise had a $200k+ cost to us as the client with ongoing delays, employee overtime and ad hoc charter. Although it’s what we expect from contractors, we wrote a thank you letter to the engineer concerned for his diligence and expertise and gave him and the contractor a safety award for embracing both their own speak up if you are unsure and our own stop for safety culture.
The cost? We didn’t care about the cost, we just ate it.
Steve, it was probably one of your members. You probably didn’t hear about it. Neither should you really need to. Reporting any defect should be all be part of a normal working day in a safe culture.
I am sure all of your members would report a crack if they see one. It would be a brave and stupid operator or airline that didn’t support you 100%
Last edited by industry insider; 2nd Nov 2019 at 23:53.
"I know one thing for sure: Telling the world that your Engineers are irresponsible doesn't make your airline look good. Quite the opposite."
And it does nothing for the person doing the telling either
And it does nothing for the person doing the telling either
I wonder how many calls were made on Friday from pax asking for refunds.
I wonder what Mr Wirth thinks about the management and their relationship with union officials or is it simply a case now of him having moved on from his former life.
I wonder what the AFAP & AIPA is doing regarding their members.
I wonder what the FAAA is doing regarding their members.
I was out on Saturday for a former staff reunion, all were on the side of the engineers. As one guy said, make sure you tell everyone in the coming days that QANTAS are in the wrong.
I wonder what Mr Wirth thinks about the management and their relationship with union officials or is it simply a case now of him having moved on from his former life.
I wonder what the AFAP & AIPA is doing regarding their members.
I wonder what the FAAA is doing regarding their members.
I was out on Saturday for a former staff reunion, all were on the side of the engineers. As one guy said, make sure you tell everyone in the coming days that QANTAS are in the wrong.
I dip my lid to the folks that keep them turning and burning. You’re always there, rain, hail, shine. Night day. Christmas. Easter. Father’s Day. Mother’s Day. Grumpy, happy or in between.
That licence number means something. It has a proud history of excellence. Don’t let them cheapen it. Every time I see a QF lame sign the CRS I know I’m good to go. I’ll ask questions occasionally for my benefit. I trust the responses. Because we are a team. The only team that matters.
That licence number means something. It has a proud history of excellence. Don’t let them cheapen it. Every time I see a QF lame sign the CRS I know I’m good to go. I’ll ask questions occasionally for my benefit. I trust the responses. Because we are a team. The only team that matters.
This is what happens when you rely solely your on past reputation rather than continue the practices that made you great in the first place. The way they have dealt with the problem has been to tokenise safety by grounding what they had to, claim it was voluntary and dismiss the underlying problem with the same old “we would never do anything unsafe” spiel. Great job to the engineers who found the problem and reported it, it’s disappointing to see QF deal with it the way they have.
I've had detailed discussions on this issue with three different people, all of whom asked me about it as they were quite concerned. They all mentioned his pay and two asked about the wedding. I got a lot of traction from stating that Qantas will be covering themselves to ensure they are 100% legal, but unlike in the past, no more than that. Then I stated the old aviation adage that you have to be both 'safe' AND 'legal' at all times - that they are not always the same thing. The key being not 'wanting' to find a problem that 'could' be there. That hit a very big note. The other thing I mentioned that created interest is that in her wisdom Mr Joyce woke up one morning and took it into his head to ground the entire airline because he felt like proving a pointless point, yet he now deems it 'irresponsible' to spend a single hour looking at each 737 that may have safety issues yet fly continuously..
I think those simple statements sunk in.
I think those simple statements sunk in.
Just the the words I have on occasion felt like directing to the various “Skygods” out there who feel they have a monopoly on all things aviation.
Your opinion is valuable mate. Whether you’re one of the chosen few or not.
I've also been fortunate enough to have developed a cadre of contacts, here and overseas, who have expertise in a variety of related fields. And then there's right here - if I can't find something out elsewhere then I'll pose the question here.
At the end of the day 1 + 1 = 2 is true regardless of whether it's written by someone with four bars on their shoulder or none and no amount of command time can make 1 + 1 = 3 true (although I'm sure someone will have an amusing anecdote on that topic).
Thanks Krusty. I have no great ambition to make a fool of myself here so I'm disinclined to blithely wade into a discussion without doing some research. I'm fortunate to have a good many mates and former colleagues who are currently in the business and have a wealth of experience across a variety of types (and the generosity of time and patience to put up with 20 (generally more) questions from me on a regular basis). And we're all of an age that their experience has been from the left hand seat (except for two mates who fly rotary) for some time now.
I've also been fortunate enough to have developed a cadre of contacts, here and overseas, who have expertise in a variety of related fields. And then there's right here - if I can't find something out elsewhere then I'll pose the question here.
At the end of the day 1 + 1 = 2 is true regardless of whether it's written by someone with four bars on their shoulder or none and no amount of command time can make 1 + 1 = 3 true (although I'm sure someone will have an amusing anecdote on that topic).
I've also been fortunate enough to have developed a cadre of contacts, here and overseas, who have expertise in a variety of related fields. And then there's right here - if I can't find something out elsewhere then I'll pose the question here.
At the end of the day 1 + 1 = 2 is true regardless of whether it's written by someone with four bars on their shoulder or none and no amount of command time can make 1 + 1 = 3 true (although I'm sure someone will have an amusing anecdote on that topic).
I noticed Geoffrey that you’re missing a bit of hair lately.