[Peetwo]

Part II (REX): "Nothing to see here - move along."   

The "he said...she said" wars seem set to continue on REX imbroglio, via the Oz yesterday:

CASA inspectors due at Rex depot amid safety concerns

ROBYN IRONSIDE
AVIATION WRITER
@ironsider

5:15PM JULY 3, 2019



CASA inspectors will visit the Rex airlines depot at Wagga Wagga tomorrow to collect more information. REX airline aeroplanes, planes, crew, refuelling and catering seen from Gate 10 of the Adelaide Airport. Regional Express is an Australian airline based in Mascot, New South Wales. It operates scheduled regional services. (AAP/Emma Brasier)

Of several examples provided, one alleged an engineer was disciplined when he wrote a defect report about shaft corrosion on a propeller of a Saab 340 aircraft.

The letter of complaint suggested Rex came down hard on the worker, because he was not supposed to be looking at the propeller shaft while carrying out routine line maintenance.

Daily Telly/ NewsCorp  expose: 




Video ref link: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/n...a47e6b6b87

Regional Express safety concerns examined



Regional Express will find out next week if its maintenance standards meet with the regulator’s approval, following an inspection by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.

Three inspectors visited the airline’s maintenance depot in Wagga Wagga yesterday following on from a 17-page letter of complaint made to CASA by the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association.

The complaint raised concerns about a poor safety culture at Rex, and claimed employees were discouraged from reporting aircraft defects if it caused flight delays or cancellations.

Rex was given the opportunity to respond to the complaint before CASA made the decision to carry out an inspection.

This week Rex deputy chairman John Sharp dismissed the letter as coming from a “disgruntled employee” and said if CASA had any serious concerns it would have grounded the ­airline.

“The fact they haven’t tells you they haven’t got a concern,” Mr Sharp said.

“We all have people who are unhappy (in the workplace), but it doesn’t necessarily mean that we have a poor safety culture. It just means somebody is not happy and that’s the world.”

He said he had confidence that CASA would get to the bottom of the issue.

“No matter what you think about them, they are the ones who are responsible for providing fact-based evidence,” Mr Sharp said.

Rex has received a high level of attention from CASA since March 2017, when a propeller fell off one of the airline’s SAAB 340Bs in flight, southwest of Sydney airport.

Since then, 12 audits or surveillance operations have been conducted on Rex, more than any other regional airline.

A CASA spokesman said the inspectors who visited the maintenance depot would write up their observations, which would then be assessed by a panel.

The “disgruntled employee” Rex inadvertently named in a media release this week remained employed by the airline, Mr Sharp said.

“We’re obviously upset about this, we think it’s grossly unfair, other than the fact it’s false,” he said.

Daily Telegraph editorial: Video raises concerns about REX plane safety

Video footage showing rust on the prop shaft of a REX aircraft is concerning in itself, but the broader issue of airline safety is something that requires our attention.

As any potential property buyer knows, a house inspection is vital before any offers are made.

Even with a seemingly pristine property, such inspections may turn up small yet telling signs of future drama.

But at least with most houses there is little worry of any flaws actually being dangerous to occupants. Expensive to repair, perhaps, but not physically threatening in any way.

Obviously, maintenance issues become more crucial when you’re thousands of metres above the earth’s surface. Any fault in an aircraft is a very serious matter indeed.



This is why Australian aviation authorities are so vigilant in inspecting and approving aircraft for flight. Our safety regimes are a major reason why Australia has such an enviable record for airline safety.

Those safety regimes may require an update. The Daily Telegraph reveals a concerning image of rust on the propeller shaft of a Saab plane operated by the Regional Express (otherwise known as REX) airline.

The same aircraft, registered VH-RXN, yesterday flew from Kangaroo Island to Adelaide.

Apparent rust on the prop shaft may be part of broader problems with the airline.

The vigilant engineer who found and filmed the prop shaft corrosion has not reported the problem to his airline bosses because he fears being punished.

This is an issue with which air safety experts are painfully familiar. “We have a real problem with REX because our members cannot report faults without them going after the employee,” Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association technical officer Stephen Re told The Daily Telegraph.



After reviewing The Daily Telegraph’s footage, the technical officer confirmed: “This is clearly a Regional Express aircraft with worrying evidence of corrosion on the prop shaft.”

For its part, REX strongly denies any problems with either the airline’s safety procedures or its employee culture.

“REX believes that our Safety Management System, including our safety culture, is second to none in Australia,” a REX spokesman said yesterday.

The spokesman pointed blame at a lone disgruntled staff member expressing “his personal industrial grievances”.

Investigations continue. Beyond safety concerns, a broader probe could be required.

REX rust video is just plane scary

Regional Express John Sharp has spoken out today to insist his airline is safe and to encourage customers to stick with “the last man standing” among airlines servicing the bush.

Regional Express John Sharp has spoken out today to insist his airline is safe and to encourage customers to stick with “the last man standing” among airlines servicing the bush.

Mr Sharp spoke out after The Daily Telegraph published a video showing un-investigated corrosion on Rex Saab plane propeller shaft that an engineer had filmed but been too concerned about management repercussions.

The exclusive footage showed the rust on the prop shaft of the Saab plane, registration number VH-RXN, which on Thursday flew from Kangaroo Island to Adelaide.



“That plane was having a B check in our hanger in Adelaide yesterday after 1000 hours flying. I am looking at a photo of that very part and it is bright and shiny, almost new,” he said.

Mr Sharp said the brown marks that had concerned the engineer had been “wiped off with solvent”.

But Stephen Re, technical officer for The Australian Licenced Aircraft Engineers Association, said: “It is great that the part could be cleaned but the concern is that the engineer did not want to report it.

“The part needed to be looked at.”



Mr Sharp denied an engineer had been disciplined over an earlier incident when he spotted corrosion on an engine prop shaft during a routine walk around check of an aircraft. In that instance the corrosion was checked and the engine taken out of service.

He said the engineer was not disciplined. “We would describe it as an appropriate response to a person not following procedures,” he said. “He has suffered no penalty in pay and is still working for us.”

Mr Sharp said the airline actively encouraged employees to report areas of concern. “In the last two years the number of these reports made by engineers has increased by more than 10 per cent.

“If we had a culture of fear and of retaliation, of punishment and disciplining people for making these reports, that wouldn’t be the case.

He said the union was “weaponising safety” as part of a campaign against the airline which was “killing us”.

“We are the last man standing among regional airlines. People need to know that we are safe,” he said.

He said CASA is the “judge and jury” and had inspectors at the airlines Wagga Wagga maintenance depot today. “If they were concerned they would ground us,” he said.



Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesman Peter Gibson said the video “will be looked at very carefully and closely”.

Two years ago a REX flight from Albury to Sydney was forced to make an emergency landing after a 100kg propeller sheared off and landed just metres from homes in southwest Sydney. A fatigue crack in the shaft was identified as the cause.

A report on the findings of the inspectors is not expected for several days.

MTF? - Hmm..sounds like it! P2