Qantas plane grounded twice

A report in The Australian says that a Qantas Boeing 767 was grounded twice within 48 hours, disrupting the holiday plans of hundreds of passengers, forcing the airline to again defend its maintenance record, with on both occasions, the plane departing almost 24 hours late after parts were flown from Australia to Hong Kong.

Qantas has been plagued by maintenance problems, prompting claims by engineers that the consequences of years of cost-cutting are now surfacing, with on July 26, an unspecified mechanical problem forcing a Brisbane-bound Qantas Boeing 767 to return to Hong Kong airport after its departure.

On July 28, another Brisbane-bound flight by the same plane, with 230 passengers aboard, was aborted before take-off when a maintenance check revealed further defects.

Last week, an Australian Transport Safety Bureau report revealed that a Qantas 767 flew from Darwin to Brisbane with a burning cloth in the engine after crew ignored a fire warning.

At the same time, it emerged that four of five sections of emergency lighting wiring in a Qantas jumbo had been crudely repaired using staples.

In March, a Qantas audit raised doubts about the standard of maintenance conducted overseas.

Australian Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineers Association federal secretary Steve Purvinas said the Hong Kong groundings were cause for further concern.

"There was a time when Qantas had minimum standards, which they would enforce and go beyond." "Now it's down to the bare minimum," he said.

Qantas engineering manager David Cox said the airline was pleased with the performance of its 29-strong Boeing 767 fleet.

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