AndrzejJeziorski/MUNICH
German charter operator LTU has sacked three senior managers after the discovery of a series of maintenance deficiencies in the fleet of Munich-based sister airline LTU Süd.
LTU says that it is unable to name the managers concerned for legal reasons, but they included one of two general managers of LTU's aircraft maintenance arm, a manager in charge of quality assurance and one in charge of LTU Süd's Boeing 767 fleet.
In two separate incidents in recent months, one 767 was found to have flown with cracks in an engine pylon, another with cracks in the forward-fuselage structure. Investigations found that despite the fact that some LTU Süd managers were aware of the cracks, repair procedures recommended by Boeing were not carried out, say airline sources.
LTU describes the incidents as "absolutely unacceptable", and has sacked the managers responsible.
The problems were discovered during the examination of maintenance documents while LTU Süd was being taken over by its sister company.
Aircraft were also found to have operated to Windhoek in Namibia with the wrong tyres. Special tyres are required for operations to the airport - which is over 6,500ft (2,000m) above sea level - under certain conditions.
The merger of the two carriers, which was decided at the end of 1996, has now been completed. LTU now operates a fleet of six Airbus A330-300s, four Boeing MD-11s, five 767-300ERs and ten 757-200s, as well as three more 757-200s belonging to Spanish subsidiary LTE.
The company's four MD-11s are to be handed over to Swissair in November 1998, and will be replaced with two more 757s and one 767. The fleet change is part of a restructuring plan.
Source: Flight International
