Our planes are safe, ATR says; claims T&T safety concerns hurting ATR's reputation

European aircraft manufacturer ATR is standing behind its planes and says any suggestions from Trinidad and Tobago that there may be safety issues with its aircraft have no basis in fact.

In a statement Wednesday, the company said the safety claims are damaging to its reputation and expressed concern that to date neither Caribbean Airlines (CAL) nor the government of Trinidad and Tobago has contacted ATR directly about the situation.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar told reporters last Thursday, "An issue has arisen with respect to safety of the aircraft, the preferred aircraft, from the former board and the present board is raising safety issues."

The latest development on that matter is the hiring of a British aviation expert to prepare an independent report on the ATR planes.

Read the story: Aviation expert to report on safety of ATR planes

Cabinet approved the purchase of 9 ATR 72-600 planes in September at a cost of US$200 million and has made a down payment of US$1.8 for the planes, which are to be delivered in 2011.

ATR was emphatic that there is no safety issue that should be causing CAL or the Trinidad and Tobago government any concern.

"ATR cannot accept that the safety of its products is called into question when there is absolutely no technical or factual basis for this to be an issue," a company release stated.

"Furthermore, the fact that these safety concerns are raised after the joint media announcement of the agreement between CAL and ATR and the payment of commitment fees makes it even more damaging for the image of ATR and its products...

"Declarations inferring that ATR aircraft are unsafe not only harm ATR's image as a company but, also, the image of all of the professionals in the aeronautical industry that are connected with the operation of ATR aircraft. There is no doubt that any qualified aviation professional would rely on work performed by airworthiness authorities.

The airplane maker the agreement with CAL resulted from an exhaustive and thorough technical and economic analysis by CAL's airline management and a "detailed comparison with the competition".

"This long selection process led to the designation of our product and commercial offer as the best solution for the airline...Given all these elements, and in light of the fact that safety of ATR aircraft is not a credible issue, ATR has serious concerns as to the real reasons why this decision and the signed agreement between Caribbean Airlines and ATR are being called into question."

ATR added, "As a well-recognised international aircraft manufacturer, ATR has always placed safety at the forefront of its everyday work and efforts." 

It presented current information to make its point. ATR said there are more than 850 ATR aircraft in operation daily by 150 commercial airlines in 90 countries around the world, "without any restriction or concern regarding safety".

In addition it noted that the ATR aircraft are certified by the international civil aviation authorities in all of these countries, including the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 

"The ATR products fully comply with the very stringent certification requirements of the CS25 and FAR 25 Rules, which are the same applied to narrow-body and wide-body aircraft made by Boeing and Airbus," it said.

"In addition to CAL, many other major airlines and leasing companies around the world have selected ATR (two most recently were Azul in Brazil and Steven Udvar-Hazy's Air Lease in the US). ATR currently has more than half of the market share in sales and deliveries," the company said.