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"From The Sunday TimesMay 25, 2008

Budget airline Flyglobespan charged over `danger' flight Insight: 
Michael Gillard and Jonathan Calvert 
A budget airline is to be prosecuted for endangering the safety of 
passengers after allowing a 757 jet to fly "illegally" to America 
with faulty instruments.

The case against Flyglobespan, which flies more than 2.2m passengers 
a year to 30 destinations, will be the first criminal prosecution 
against a British airline for more than a decade.

The Sunday Times has established that the transatlantic flight is one 
of a number of alleged safety breaches being investigated by the 
Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

The regulator is also looking into cases where two aircraft were 
flown without official clearance after one was damaged by lightning 
and another was hit by an airport vehicle.

The disclosures come amid increased concern that low-cost carriers, 
which already operate on tight margins, may cut corners on 
maintenance as profits are hit by rising oil prices.

Flyglobespan, which flies from airports such as Gatwick, Manchester 
and Glasgow, is run by Tom Dalrymple, a 63-year-old Scottish multi-
millionaire. It is understood that Dalrymple, who is worth £75m 
according to The Sunday Times Rich List, was interviewed under 
caution by the CAA in March.

The inquiry centred on a 12-year-old Boeing 757 which flew between 
Liverpool, Knock, in the west of Ireland, and New York. As the jet 
was taking off from JFK airport on June 28 last year both its engine 
pressure ratio gauges failed. The pilot reported the faults when he 
reached Liverpool.

The plane, which carries more than 200 people, should have been 
grounded until at least one of the gauges had been fixed. But the 
airline authorised it to fly back across the Atlantic with neither 
gauge functioning.

The gauges measure engine thrust, which is critical during take-off. 
They are on a mandatory list of equipment which has to be operational 
if the 757 is to be certified as airworthy.

Graham Sturrock, a former pilot who advises airlines, said that 
flying without the gauges reduces the safety net if other equipment 
fails. "It also increases the pilot's workload and the chance of 
pilot error," he said.

When the plane reached New York it was grounded until it was 
repaired. The problem should have been reported to the CAA within 
four days but it was left to the American regulator to report it 
three months later.

It is understood the airline has admitted sanctioning the flights and 
has replaced two managers.

The airline was last week served three summons to appear before City 
of Westminster magistrates in July to answer criminal charges of 
endangering an aircraft and its passengers. The offence carries an 
unlimited fine.

The prosecution comes after a difficult period for Flyglobespan, 
which had been a rising star of the airline industry. Dalrymple's 
business was originally a travel agency but he diversified into 
airlines in 2002, picking up airport spaces vacated after the 9/11 
terrorist attacks. His group's turnover is £280m and it employs 1,500 
people.

Last October the CAA suspended its Etops licence for two weeks after 
identifying undisclosed problems. Etops permits an airline to fly 
over large expanses of water; without it, Flyglobespan could not 
travel over the Atlantic. Instead, it had to take a route via Iceland 
and Greenland to be within an hour of land in case of emergency.

There was further bad publicity in January when an engine burst into 
fire on a flight from Orlando, Florida. Passengers reported hearing 
loud bangs and seeing flames. "I thought we were going to die," said 
one.

The wider CAA investigation has looked at allegations that two 
damaged aircraft were flown for repair late last year without first 
seeking the necessary permit from the regulator.

One had been hit by a baggage vehicle. The other, which suffered a 
suspected lightning strike, is thought to have made six flights 
before being repaired.

Experts say great care should be taken after a plane has been 
involved in an incident where the extent of the damage is not fully 
known. "The point is that you are potentially flying a bomb," said 
one industry official.

Last week Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat spokesman for transport, 
voiced his concerns about low-cost airlines hit by the soaring price 
of oil: "The consequence of that is we all have to be very vigilant 
that safety cuts are not made in order to keep accounts in the black."

This weekend the CAA confirmed that it had issued the summonses 
against Flyglobespan over the flight to New York.

Flyglobespan confirmed that it had been in discussion with the CAA 
regarding "some alleged issues from last year's programme". It said 
that it has since made changes to its fleet, senior management, 
engineering and reporting procedures and is operating with full CAA 
approval."

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