Jetstar pilots 'afraid to report risks'

JETSTAR pilots are too afraid to speak out about dangerous overtime and fatigue risks because they are worried about losing their jobs, a Senate inquiry has heard.

An internal Civil Aviation Safety Authority audit of fatigue management at Jetstar, from May 2010, found there was a lack of evidence to demonstrate Jetstar was making appropriate fatigue risk assessment. The audit was tabled by independent senator Nick Xenophon yesterday at a committee hearing into pilot training and airline safety.

The report found "based on feedback from operational personnel, it is not considered Jetstar management has created a culture of open and honest reporting of fatigue risk. "There remains reluctance from a number of flight crew to report fatigue risk and/or to say no to an extension of duty based on the perceived punitive nature of taking such actions."

The vice-president of the Australian and International Pilots Association, Captain Richard Woodward, said there was "a culture of fear and intimidation at that airline". He said AIPA had received dozens of complaints from Jetstar pilots about dangerous working hours, including short turnaround times. All refused to go on the record because they didn't want to lose their job.

CASA director of aviation safety John McCormick said issues in the internal audit had been satisfactorily dealt with, and tabled a subsequent CASA report into fatigue risk at Jetstar, which found fatigue management was reactive and a more proactive system of fatigue risk was in a concept stage.

Jetstar spokesman Simon Westaway said safety was the airline's priority and CASA regularly undertook such audits. He said the audit "delivered no formal request for corrective action into areas assessed". "Jetstar is currently formalising its integrated fatigue risk management system in accordance with best practice."

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Jetstar flight crew feared death

A JETSTAR flight crew feared for their lives late last year after their plane came close to crashing during a tropical storm over Darwin, a Senate inquiry has heard. The hearing was told that the A320 passenger jet would not climb and stalled for several minutes.

A Qantas A380 captain, who gave evidence on behalf of the pilot of the Jetstar plane, told the inquiry that a report given to him of the incident told how the pilot and first officer were convinced they would crash.

Richard Woodward, the A380 captain representing the Australian International Airline Pilots' Association, said it was strange the Australian Transport Safety Bureau had closed an inquiry given that the incident was so serious.

"He (the pilot) was quite concerned and thought that they were going to die because of the severe weather event. It (the plane) actually stopped climbing for quite some period of time," Capt Woodward said. "The storm was directly overhead and they (the pilots) couldn't have seen it," he said.

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