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Aircraft safety in the UK is left to luck. Aircraft are leaving British airports with known problems, and there is no mechanism for anxious passengers to report potentially lethal faults - as we discovered when we landed at London Gatwick Airport, Monday 12 February 1996, aboard an Onur Air A320 Airbus.
The rear door over the port wing was leaking aboard flight number 4357, from Istanbul. Air could be heard rushing through the seals, and water was pouring in on the passenger sitting in seat 13A. On reporting the fault to the Turkish cabin staff, we were told, "Don't worry about it!"
We landed safely, but were concerned about well being of the two hundred or more passengers who were about to board this plane. Our concern was heightened, because Turkey's airline safety record is somewhat unenviable. Only a few weeks earlier, a Turkish Boeing 757 ditched. Back in the seventies, a serious crash resulted from a cargo door falling off a Turkish aircraft!
Today's passenger aircraft fly at altitudes in the region of 10000 metres, at speeds in excess of 500kmh. A sudden loss of cabin pressure can have catastrophic results. So, on landing at Gatwick, South Terminal, we were determined to report the fault.
Our first port of call was the Information Desk at 11:25, where a pleasant but rather ill informed information clerk told us that she didn't have a clue who we should talk to. We persuaded her to let us use the phone - where the fun really started. Meanwhile, back on the tarmac, the aircraft was being prepared for a quick turnaround, with our reported fault going unchecked
Pillar to post
We spoke to the Check In Supervisor who suggested we spoke to Airport Security, who in turn passed us back to the Information Desk. Then we were connected to Servisair, who said they couldn't help and passed us back to Information. Then we spoke to the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority). They couldn't help either and suggested the Department of Transport, who recommended we spoke to the CAA!
No one would take our complaint seriously!
After we created a great deal of fuss, we eventually spoke to Operations Duty Manager, Ben Ellis at about 12:30, an hour after landing. By the time our conversation with him had finished, we were told that the offending aircraft had left Gatwick, bound for Turkey, with the fault, still unchecked
.Communication problem
Ben Ellis told us that he felt the aircraft was probably not in a dangerous state. Having established that we had already reported the fault to the cabin crew, he said, "There's obviously a communication problem with the flight crew working at the back of the aeroplane and the flight crew working at the front."
Alarmed that an airliner was leaving a British airport with a potentially lethal fault, we asked Mr Ellis, "The aircraft is going to take off - and there's nothing you can do about it?"
He replied, "Well, at the moment yes, that's true. Now you've got me concerned but I can't arbitrarily go and stop every aircraft."...
Keep you informed
Shortly afterwards we received a letter dated 12 February 1996, from Ben Ellis saying:
"I have written to the Department Of Transport today giving them the details you gave me. They say they will respond to you directly, and keep you informed of progress."
So far we have heard absolutely nothing from the Department of Transport.
Nevertheless, we wonder how many potentially lethal aircraft leave British airports every day? Will the British airline authorities will ever set up a hotline so anxious passengers can report faults they observe? And most intriguingly, what is the Department of Transport doing about our complaint?
Clearly, the lack of safety provision at Gatwick, and the subsequent reaction from the Department of Transport must be of serious concern to anyone flying from a British airport. As ever, we will keep you posted as events unfold...
The irony is that, if you are driving along a UK motorway and see too many traffic cones, there is a free hotline you may use in order to vent your concern. There is even a hotline to report faulty street lamps!
Fortunately, this particular aircraft landed safely at its destination. However, if you are travelling on a passenger aircraft to, or from a British airport, and spot a serious fault, there appears to be nothing you can do about it.
Full transcript of interview with Ben Ellis, Operations Duty Manager, London Gatwick Airport
If you have had a similar experience we would like to know about it.
