Jet Charter Company Fined for Faulty Maintenance

Air Transat, a Canadian charter carrier, has been fined CAD250,000 for faulty maintenance.

The Canadian transportation authority has also placed further restrictions on the airline's flight operations that stem from a 24 August emergency landing of an Air Transat A330 aircraft in the Azores. The aircraft in question ran out of fuel during a flight from Toronto to Lisbon, Portugal and the pilot had to glide the aircraft for 20 minutes until a successful landing was made on an Azores island. The aircraft had 320 people onboard. Investigators believe that the incident was caused by improper maintenance on a recently installed Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engine.

David Collenette, the Canadian transport minister, has stated that the fine was levied after it was found that Air Transat maintenance crews had released the A330 back into service without completing servicing in accordance with required procedures, according to Reuters. The new restrictions imposed on Thursday (6 September) apply to the extended range operation of all Air Transat's twin-engine aircraft, including A310s and Boeing 757s. The restrictions mean that these aircraft must be flown within 90 minutes of suitable en route airports, while A330 aircraft must be kept within 60 minutes of suitable facilities.