Concerns Raised About The Landing Gear, All 21 Aircraft Inspected

Qantas took five Bombardier Q400 aircraft out of service Monday after concerns were raised about the landing gear on the airplanes. All 21 of the Q400's flown by Qantas were inspected, and airline spokesman Simon Rushton said "Rectification work is starting today (Monday)."

File Photo

The international news service AFP reports that Flybe, a low-cost British carrier, first noticed issues with the landing gear on its Q400's. Rushton said problems were found with two fittings on each of the 5 airplanes that were grounded, but that it hopes to have two of those back in service by the weekend.

Rushton said Qantas is "allowing three to four weeks for the work to be completed." He said the five aircraft with problems were the oldest of the Bombardiers in the airline's fleet. Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said the airplanes were inspected after talks with Bombardier about the problem.

The Q400s are flown by Qantas' regional carrier QantasLink on short-haul routes such as Sydney to Canberra.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Transport Canada is in the process of preparing an airworthiness directive for the Q400 landing gear based on the problems detected in the field.

FMI: www.qantas.com, www.bombardier.com