Wing panel on Air NZ plane marked unfit for flight

By STAFF REPORTERS

Air New Zealand admitted yesterday that a wing panel that fell off in flight had been marked for repair and the jet should not have been cleared to fly.

The panel, which was never properly screwed on to the wing of the Boeing 747, had a cross marked on it with red tape, indicating that it was undergoing engineering work.

The cross was visible when the panel was first photographed after its recovery, but the tape had been removed when the panel was shown to journalists a few hours later.

The airline was last night investigating how the aircraft came to be put back in service with the "work-in-progress" markings clearly onit.

The panel fell from the Boeing 747-400 on August 24 and crashed into a Manukau carpark. Last Friday a second panel fell from another aircraft into the Manukau Harbour.

The Herald revealed yesterday that the panel lost on August 24 had been attached to the wing by just four screws instead of the 125 needed.

Air New Zealand has now confirmed that most of the screws were missing, and that the wing panel was tagged with red tape "indicating that engineering work was in progress on it".

"There were signs of pull-through tearing at each corner of the panel indicating that it had been held in place by only four screws instead of the usual 125 fastening screws," the company said.

Spokesman David Beatson said Air New Zealand was aware the panel had been photographed with the cross and its removal was not an attempted cover-up.

"It would have been a foolish thing to do."

He said the investigation would address the issue and if any attempt at a cover-up had been made, it would be discovered.

After a 2m section of panel fell from the wing flap of another Air New Zealand Boeing 747 last Friday, an inspection found a broken bracket fastening.

Yesterday Air New Zealand said inspections of all its Boeings had revealed signs of corrosion staining on the same type of fastening on yet another plane.

The aircraft had remained on the ground and the part was replaced as a precaution.

Air New Zealand's acting chief executive, Andrew Miller, said last night that the red tape was not noticed because it was on the top of the wing and aircraft were checked from the ground before takeoff.

"The panel was on the upper surface of the wings and it wasn't noticeable from the ground.

"Things on top of the wings are checked. It's currently subject to an investigation. Engineering's a very technical area."

Air New Zealand's senior vice-president, operations and technical, Bill Jacobson, said the incident "requires us not only to check the manner in which work was carried out and checked out on this particular aircraft, but also the basic operating procedures and instructions for carrying out this kind of work.

"We need to determine with as much certainty as we can if the detachment resulted from human error, a process flaw or a combination of both.

"We must determine the causes of the detachment beyond reasonable doubt."

Air New Zealand had to satisfy the Civil Aviation Authority that its personnel and procedures complied with accepted safety standards, he said.

Air New Zealand yesterday used a helicopter to scour the Manukau Harbour for aircraft parts after Friday's incident.

Fishermen found the wing-flap section on Saturday morning, but no other parts were found in the airline's searches this week.

Air New Zealand spokeswoman Shannon Huse said the searches had followed the Los Angeles-bound aircraft's flightpath on the harbour and to Manukau Heads. More searches might be carried out.

Mr Miller confirmed that the aircraft which lost the panel over the harbour showed signs of corrosive staining on the broken part.

But Air New Zealand said it was too soon to say if the broken bracket was the cause of the "detachment incident".

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission has widened its investigation to include the latest revelations.

Inspector Ken Matthews said the commission would contact Boeing to see if the aircraft manufacturer was aware of any other cases involving the component.

He was still waiting for the broken bracket fastening from the aircraft in Los Angeles to be returned to New Zealand for inspection.

He said the investigation would also examine Air New Zealand's maintenance procedures.

* Air New Zealand's chief executive, Ralph Norris, is overseas on leave.