Australia’s air safety regulator says it has no concerns over safety issues at Regional Express.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority conducted a safety audit of REX following allegations from maintenance workers claiming they were put under pressure not to report safety problems.
The country’s largest independent regional carrier reacted angrily to a report by the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers’ Association which was leaked to the press.
REX blamed CASA itself for the leak.
The agency conducted a two-day audit at a REX maintenance facility and found no specific safety issues it said.
The report had highlighted alleged retaliatory action against an engineer who reported corrosion damage in a propeller shaft.
CASA interviewed randomly selected REX engineers during the inspection visit.
"All of them said that they felt confident in reporting maintenance errors or defects and they indicated REX operated according to ‘just culture’ principles," the regulator said.
"CASA would take immediate action if there was any evidence of serious safety issues at REX, or with any unaddressed airworthiness concerns in relation to a particular aircraft."
