Fed: Cost cutting dents Qantas safety record

AAP General News (Australia)
04-26-2001
Fed: Cost cutting dents Qantas safety record

CANBERRA, April 26 AAP - Cost-cutting and poor training have dented the safety record
of Australian airline, Qantas.

An Air Transport Safety Bureau report into a September 1999 accident in which a Qantas
Boeing 747-400 slid off the end of the runway at Bangkok, reveals preferred company policy
aimed at cost-cutting was followed in the landing.

That meant using less than optimal reverse thrust.

The airline wanted to cut costs through reducing brake and reverse thruster maintenance
and noise levy charges at Sydney airport.

So when the crew was landing the London-bound jet in difficult conditions in torrential
rain, they kept to the preferred policy and overshot the runway, hit a beacon and ending
up in soft turf with the nose on a road.

Qantas chief executive officer Geoff Dixon admitted cost-cutting was a factor but denied
Qantas had been careless with safety.

"(The ATSB report) does say that a part of it was caused by cost-cutting but they said
that we had no intention when we were cutting costs or achieving productivity to affect
the safety of the airline in any way," he said.

Mr Dixon said Qantas accepted blame for the accident and had changed management practices
since the crash.

"We accept that it was an accident, a very serious accident - we have taken it very
seriously and we will continue to take it very seriously," he said.

None of the 410 passengers and crew were hurt.

AAP kjp/cjh/sb

KEYWORD: QANTAS DAYLEAD

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