Australian air safety authority extends Qantas review

Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority has extended the scope of its review into Qantas to include how a maintenance procedure was missed on a number of its planes.

The airline grounded six of its Boeing 737s last night and cancelled 11 flights after an internal check of records revealed the irregularity.

The Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers' Association says Qantas failed to install strengthening clips, that help prevent rapid decompression of the aircraft.

But CASA spokesman Peter Gibson says safety was not an issue and the problem is being rectified.

"It's true that one step in a very complex procedure that Qantas needed to do on the 737s does appear to have been missed but the procedure was there for the ongoing operational soundness of the aircraft it wasn't about immediate safety."

FMI: Radio Australia