Australia's transport safety regulator has criticised national carrier Qantas over a "cascade of errors" that saw a 1.25-metre tool lef

Australian Transport Safety Bureau report lists series of protocol breaches from Qantas over incident involving tool in engine

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2024-11-27 08:30:04

Australia's transport safety regulator has criticised national carrier Qantas over a "cascade of errors" that saw a 1.25-metre tool left in an engine for 300 hours of flying time.

A report released by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) details how maintenance staff "lost" the "turning tool" in an A380's outboard engine, and it was only discovered after it had been cleared for service, flying multiple trips between Australia and the US.

The details were revealed within days of a 737-engine failure that made international headlines, when QF-520 was forced to land with one working engine at Sydney Airport.

Aviation auditor Professor Ron Bartsch formerly served as a manager at the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and was once head of safety at Qantas. 

He is concerned airline maintenance staff are overstretched across the sector, and likened the missing tool incident to "an operation where the surgeon leaves one of the instruments inside the body".

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