FED: One or two Ansett 767s may be in air by end of weekend

AAP General News (Australia)
04-14-2001
FED: One or two Ansett 767s may be in air by end of weekend

MELBOURNE, April 14 AAP - Ansett Australia may have one or two of its grounded aircraft
back in operation by the end of this weekend, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA)
said.

The grounding of Ansett's 10 Boeing 767-200s led to chaotic scenes at airports yesterday
as Easter travel plans were wrecked and the air safety watchdog began checking the rest
of the airline's fleet for defects.

Ansett said 10,000 passengers were affected by the grounding, but it was unable to
say how many flights had been cancelled or delayed.

CASA ordered the 10 Boeing 767-200s out of service from 10pm on Thursday after it was
told that one had made eight flights last Sunday with a defective passenger safety slide.

The problem is the latest in a series of safety issues that have plagued Ansett for
months, including the discovery earlier this week of cracks in the pylons connecting engines
to the wings of four 767s.

Stranded passengers were being flown to their destinations, often hours late, by one
of Ansett's international 747s, and four specially chartered aircraft from Qantas, Impulse
and Ansett's parent company Air New Zealand.

The airline also purchased seats for its ticket-holders on other airlines.

Meanwhile, teams of CASA engineers yesterday began inspecting the grounded 767s, as
well as carrying out random spot checks on all Ansett planes at east coast airports.

CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said the 767 inspections would be undertaken in Melbourne,
focusing on key areas of each aircraft.

Each inspection would take about two days, Mr Gibson said.

"By the end of the weekend, they may have one or two (planes back). We can only do
one at a time and we're relying on Ansett giving us all the documentation and that takes
time as well," he told reporters.

Mr Gibson said spot checks on other aircraft in the Ansett fleet had begun in Sydney
and Brisbane, although no fresh problems had been detected.

AAP st/bp/jas

KEYWORD: ANSETT DAYLEAD

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