Qantas has had to temporarily ground 10 of its Bombardier Q400s after it discovered that they had missed an inspection required by the manufacturer.
Sources tell FlightGlobal that the affected aircraft required inspections on some fasteners that were replaced under an earlier airworthiness directive issued by Transport Canada.
The airline subsequently discovered that follow-up inspections on the aircraft had not been completed, and removed the affected aircraft from service to complete them. It self-reported the issue to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.
“This is an administrative issue that relates to technical compliance and not a safety issue with the aircraft,” the Oneworld carrier says.
It adds that one of the aircraft has already returned to service, while the remaining nine will re-enter service in the coming days.
Flight Fleets Analyzer shows that Qantas operates 31 Q400s, which fly under the QantasLink brand on regional services along eastern Australia.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
