A BUDGET Scottish airline has been ordered to appear before a court accused of illegally flying passengers to America in a jet that needed repairs.
Flyglobespan will be hit with an unlimited fine if found guilty of the alleged offences, said to relate to a Boeing 757 flight last summer. The criminal prosecution will be the first against a British airline in more than ten years.
It is being b
rought by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) which interviewed Flyglobespan's multimillionaire chief executive Tom Dalrymple under caution.
Two managers have left the firm since the contentious flight, on 28 June last year, between Liverpool, Knock and New York. The jet involved was 12 years old and its engine and pressure gauges allegedly failed as it was taking off from JFK.
The pilot is said to have reported the problem on landing in Liverpool and the jet should have been grounded until both were fixed. However, it is claimed the airline authorised the flight to return across the Atlantic.
The CAA is also looking at two further incidents involving damaged planes.
A spokesman for the authority said: "Three summonses have been issued against the company and they are for alleged breaches of the Air Navigation Orders and specifically they relate to an alleged flight operated with required engine pressure gauges unserviceable and an alleged failure to file a safety report to the CAA."
A hearing has been set for 2 July at Westminster Magistrates Court and a Flyglobespan spokesman said the firm would "vigorously contest any allegations we deem to be unjustified".
The full article contains 268 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
