Skymark Airlines Uses Aircraft Without Needed Repairs

Tokyo, March 13 (Jiji Press)–Skymark Airlines continued to use a Boeing 767-300 aircraft on its domestic flight services without completing necessary repairs for about nine months, government officials said Monday.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to issue a written reprimand to the airline over the matter, ministry officials said.

The aircraft in question is a used plane leased from Royal Brunei Airlines. It picked up a six-centimeter dent to a panel fixed to its body during shipment to Taiwanese aircraft maintenance firm Evergreen Aviation Technologies Corp. in June 2004, before its delivery to Skymark in November the same year.

The Taiwanese firm carried out emergency work based on the recommendations of Boeing Co. Boeing made clear the need for full repairs within one year, and Brunei Airlines informed Skymark of the deadline for the full fixing.

But Skymark continued using the aircraft without the required repairs after the deadline passed in June last year. A Skymark engineer noticed the firm’s mistake last week and had the dented panel replaced.

A reinforcement panel that the Taiwanese firm had used as an emergency measure was nearly cracking, the officials said.END