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Eagle Air has grounded its fleet for the second time in five years after problems were found with one of its Beechcraft 1900D aircraft.
The Hamilton based regional airline is inspecting its entire fleet of 18 Beechcraft after hairline cracks were discovered in the tail area of one of them during routine maintenance.
Three out of four aircraft checked so far have been found to be affected and all Eagle Air services have been cancelled as a precautionary measure.
An update on the situation is expected to be made later this evening.
In the meantime the airline is using aircraft from Air New Zealand to move affected passengers.
In 2007 the airline’s fleet was grounded when a defective undercarriage was found during a routine inspection of a Beechcraft.
This came just three months after another one of its Beechcraft made an emergency landing at Blenheim when its landing gear failed to lower.
No one was injured and the aircraft suffered only minor damage.
Then in 2008 two pilots flying one of its Beechcraft from Blenheim to Christchurch were stabbed by a deranged woman in a hijacking attempt.
The pilots survived the attack and landed safely in Christchurch where the woman was arrested.
More recently it has copped some flak for flight cancellations and rescheduling services with little prior warning.
According to Wikipedia public opinion believes the Beechcraft is “now considered to be unreliable as a type for the harsher New Zealand weather conditions with frequent cancellations due to maintenance issues.”
Rod Vaughan
Wed, 11 Jul 2018
Wed, 11 Jul 2018
© All content copyright NBR. Do not reproduce in any form without permission, even if you have a paid subscription.
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Eagle Air's wings clipped by fleet grounding
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