The Civil Aviation Safety Authority was notified immediately and steps were put in place to ensure all aircraft considered to be at possible risk were subjected to rigorous safety testing at the earliest possible opportunity.

Qantas has assured The Leader there was no risk to the public in the case of the plane responsible for the original alert.

It had not been scheduled for passenger use in the immediate future and, as it apparently could not be fuelled due to the nature of the fault, could not have taken off in any case.

While faults were apparently detected with another two planes according to CASA the interventions occurred before any mishaps could take place.

Although it is regrettable that there was an apparent maintenance error on the Dash 8s the bottom line is that the response to the crisis indicates that the comprehensive set of checks and balances in place to maintain a high level of public safety in the Australian aviation sector appears to be working.

Both Qantas and CASA are committed to investigating the events of the last week as closely as possible.

The Leader will do its best to ensure the public is informed of the outcomes of both inquiries.

ppp

A BIG Tamworth welcome to the World Youth Day pilgrims who chose to forego yesterday’s “Super Thursday” celebrations in Sydney to travel to Tamworth to spread the word about the event.

Many residents have told The Leader the sight of them singing and dancing their way down Peel St shortly after 3pm yesterday was both welcome and inspirational.

Tamworth has now learnt – first hand – of just how significant, life-changing and truly international World Youth Day is.

We thank the pilgrims for a truly welcome gift.