CASA’s director of aviation safety John McCormick has described the regulator’s decision to ground Tiger Airways as an “extraordinary action” that came due to “concerns about Tiger’s ability to operate safely”.
The CASA boss used his monthly emailed newsletter to industry, ‘CASA Briefing’, to explain the decision in his first public comments on the high profile grounding.
“In the end, CASA lost confidence in Tiger’s ability to satisfactorily fulfil its safety-related obligations and to conduct its operations without posing a serious and imminent risk to safety, compelling us to issue the suspension notice,” McCormick wrote. “Taking this action did not give me, or indeed anyone in CASA, any pleasure as it is our goal to see a safe and vibrant aviation industry at all times. However, in the interests of the travelling public and the general community stern action was required to ensure essential safety standards within the airline are maintained.”
Explaining that Tiger has “cooperated” with CASA, McCormick noted that “A lot of work has been undertaken throughout the last three weeks to investigate the incidents that precipitated the suspension of Tiger and to determine the actions the airline must take to improve its safety performance. At the time I write this, it is CASA’s intention to complete its investigation by or before 1 August 2011 and, in accordance with the provisions of Division 3A of the Civil Aviation Act, either to take action to have the suspension lifted, or to take other and further action as may be necessary in the interests of safety.”
CASA issued Tiger with the grounding notice late on the evening of July 1.
“This was not a decision taken lightly and it was based on a careful assessment of a wide range of information before CASA at the time,” McCormick said.
