The aviation safety regulator has "not found any immediate safety issues at Regional Express" after inspectors visited the airline's Wagga base.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In a statement issued on Friday, the Civil Aviation Authority said it was "continuing to investigate allegations about maintenance practices at Rex" as it says some questions remain not fully answered.
"CASA yesterday conducted a full-day audit at the main REX maintenance base, which is in Wagga," the statement read.
"This audit included inspections of hangars and aircraft, observing repair work, interviewing engineers and reviewing maintenance documentation. This audit is part of CASA's thorough investigation of Rex maintenance practices. CASA will be investigating the video showing possible corrosion on a Rex aircraft propeller as part of the overall review of Rex maintenance."
IN OTHER NEWS:
According to the statement, CASA is working as quickly as possible to finalise these matters, but at this stage the investigation is ongoing.
"CASA will be seeking further information from Rex as questions remain not fully answered," it read.
"If immediate safety issues are found CASA will take timely and appropriate action. CASA can assure air travellers it will not finalise the investigation until questions about safety at Rex are fully answered and any remedial actions, if required, are put into place by Rex."
In a strongly worded statement issued late on Thursday, Rex rejected the claims as spurious and invited "all who have lingering doubts to talk directly to CASA, which is the only authority that has all the facts and evidence, instead of giving credence to disgruntled staff manipulating the safety regulator to ventilate his personal industrial grievances".
"The disgruntled engineer was taken to task for several instances of professional negligence and misconduct. In retaliation, he has made the unfounded claim that engineers are being intimidated out of reporting defects," Rex's deputy chairman John Sharp said in a statement.
Receive our daily newsletter straight to your inbox each morning from The Border Mail. Sign up here