By Caroline Van Hasselt and Kaveri Niththyananthan Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES TORONTO (Dow Jones)--Canada's civil-aviation safety regulators told Dow Jones Monday that it is in the process of issuing an air-worthiness bulletin on Bombardier-built Q400 turboprops relating to the potential for cracks or corrosion near the landing gear.
"Transport Canada is aware of concerns relating to the turboprop aircraft landing gear, and the department is in the process of issuing an Air-worthiness Directive on this subject," says Transport Canada spokeswoman Maryse Durette. Such a directive would require all operators to correct the specific problem.
Australia's Qantas Airlines Ltd. (QAN.AU) on the weekend temporarily grounded five of its 21 Q400 turboprops after conducting inspections related to recent Bombardier service bulletins that were issued after U.K. carrier Flybe Ltd. (FBE.YY) raised concerns about the undercarriage fittings on its Q400 fleet. This latest issue is not related to the landing-gear problems that grounded Scandinavia-based SAS Group's Q400 fleet in 2007, says a Bombardier Inc. (BBD.B.T) spokesman.
Montreal-based Bombardier is "communicating with all owners of Q400 to provide them with the next steps, and Transport Canada is monitoring" the company's "proactive response," Transport Canada said. Bombardier issued the service bulletins in July and April related to the fittings in the turboprop's nacelle area near the landing gear. The nacelle area is a streamlined enclosure that's not part of the fuselage.
Of the 300 Q400 fleet worldwide, 222 planes need to be inspected, says John Arnone, a Bombardier spokesman. The inspections are meant to catch any corrosion, fatigue or stress before it becomes an issue. To date, 60% of the 222 planes have been inspected, and 4% of the inspected planes were found to have potential problems and have been either fixed or awaiting parts, he says.
This latest issue with the Q400, a popular quiet short-haul turboprop, comes just months after Canadian and U.S. regulators ordered the company to fix certain angle-of-attack, or AOA, components on the Q400 that warn of aerodynamic stalls. Bombardier first alerted Transport Canada to potential AOA problems last fall after one of its suppliers informed it of a stalling incident due to icing on a non-Bombardier aircraft. French parts-maker Thales SA (HO.FR) is Bombardier's supplier.
Sydney-based Qantas said in a statement, dated Aug. 21, that it grounded the five short-haul planes after "inspection of a main landing-gear component." The airline began inspecting its fleet after discussions with Bombardier and after Flybe, a major operator of the aircraft, detected a cracked fitting during a regular maintenance check.
A spokesman for the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority confirmed it was aware of the issue. "Flybe were performing normal maintenance checks and informed the manufacturer," the spokesman said, adding that the regulator isn't aware of any further issues.
A Flybe spokesperson told Dow Jones that "procedures, such as the checks carried out on the Q400 fleet, are standard practice throughout the industry," adding that its Q400 fleet is operating its normal schedule, with no delays or cancellations.
U.K. airlines must notify the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority of safety critical issues within 96 hours of an incident. Foreign airlines are regulated by their home authorities.
Qantas said it expects the component fix to take around seven days for each aircraft. As a result, QantasLink cancelled some of its Sydney-Canberra Q400 services, is operating supplementary jet flights and using larger aircraft where possible.
"The issue is not an immediate flight safety concern, but does need to be rectified before each aircraft can return to service," said Alan Joyce, Qantas' chief executive.
In 2007, SAS pulled all 27 of its Q400 fleet out of service after landing-gear-related problems led to three crash landings within seven weeks. Charlotte, N.C.-based Goodrich Corp. (GR) supplied the landing gear. A year later, Bombardier agreed to pay SAS Scandinavian compensation of around $164 million in cash and credit for future aircraft purchases. As part of the agreement, SAS agreed to order 27 aircraft, with an option for 24 more.
In Toronto Monday, Bombardier B shares are down 9 Canadian cents, or 2%, to C$4.47 on about 1.9 million shares. In Sydney, Qantas closed slightly lower at A$2.59 on 23.4 million shares.
