Posted by Josh Katz to findingDulcinea
Australia’s airline Qantas, famed for its safety record, is being investigated after a series of recent in-air incidents.
Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority has created a special investigative team to look into the safety of Qantas Airlines after the airline experienced several dangerous incidents in the span of two weeks.
On July 25, a Qantas plane flying from Hong Kong to Melbourne had to make an emergency landing in the Philippines after an oxygen cylinder exploded, creating a hole in the fuselage. Three days later, a Qantas 737-800 had to return to Adelaide because of a problem with the landing gear door. On August 2, a Qantas Boeing 767 flying from Sydney to Manila had to turn back to Australia after a hydraulic leak was discovered.
The airline has experienced other incidents in 2008, including “an emergency landing in Hawaii caused by an oxygen leak” in January, and another in March when “an external window in business class ‘popped,’” according to The New Zealand Herald.
A Qantas engineering executive said the airline’s safety standards have not declined and accused the media of bringing more attention to the issue because of Qantas’s impressive safety record. But flight attendants are not so trusting and have asked Qantas for assurances.
The airline announced in June that it would cut its staff and it has instituted other money-saving measures because of the high cost of fuel. Some trade unions have blamed the outsourcing of maintenance contracts overseas for the trouble.
In Australia’s Daily Telegraph, Tory Maguire says Qantas has always felt like “family” to Australians thanks to its safety record. But now, that relationship is “at risk of being pushed to breaking point.”
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