The concern related to the safety culture which was cultivated within the operator's workforce to falsify records to ensure that the operator appeared to comply with CASA regulations.
The reporter expressed a safety concern regarding the safety culture which exists at the operator's workforce.
The reporter expressed concern over a number of issues which occur regularly within the operator's system:
- Flight and duty times - the reporter states that these are recorded incorrectly and are often changed within the system
- Documents are changed after the fact to ensure that they comply with the CASA regulations
- Weight and Balance sheets are changed
- Pilots are informed that they have to pay for damage to the aircraft.
The reporter has also provided a list of alleged serious incidents and accidents which have not been reported to the ATSB over a number of years. A search of the ATSB records did not identify these occurrences.
I acknowledge receipt of this REPCON and assure you that such a report is not received lightly. We takes the allegations listed very seriously. However, the information provided to us is generic in nature therefore it is not possible to carry out a meaningful investigation of the allegations made. We have been operating for 21 years and are a dynamic and safety focused business. As evidence of this, we service a client base that is extremely serious about aviation safety.
Our clients carry out independent aviation safety audits at least annually and we consistently meets the very high standards they demand. We have a philosophy of transparency within the business which supports an open and honest internal and external reporting system. In addition, we have a dedicated Safety Management cell which includes a Compliance Manager with an extensive CASA background and a team of dedicated safety professionals. We are unable to explain or understand why the internal confidential reporting mechanism that is available to all staff was not utilised in the first instance, and the Reporter has instead elected to utilise the REPCON system as his or her first avenue for raising concerns.
We welcome the ATSB and/or CASA to our facility to look in detail at our very comprehensive operational, safety and quality systems. We will make all required resources and personnel relating to the allegations available for you to review.
Finally, we are strongly committed to Safety and Compliance and to fostering a culture that encourages frank and fearless reporting while supporting the right to confidentiality. Should the ATSB be able to release any further information, we shall be happy to review and respond accordingly.
CASA has reviewed the operator's submission together with the applicable procedures and is satisfied with the operator's response.