Flyglobespan, the Scottish low-fares carrier, will be examined for putting the safety of travellers in danger by permitting a 757 jet to take-off unlawfully from Liverpool Airport to America without of order instruments, reports the Times.
It will be the first ever criminal action against a British carrier in more than 10 years.
According to the reports, the transatlantic service is one of many accused safety violations being examined by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
The regulator is also investigating cases where two planes were operated without official permission after one aircraft was damaged by lightning while the other was hit by a vehicle at the airport.
Flyglobespan is owned by a 63-year-old Scottish multi-millionaire, Tom Dalrymple. The Sunday Times reports that Mr. Dalrymple was interviewed under vigilance by the CAA in the month of March.
The newspaper also reports that the investigation centres on a 12-year-old Boeing 757 aircraft that was operated between Liverpool, Knock, in the west of Ireland, and New York. When the plane was leaving from JFK airport on the 28th of June last year both of its engine pressure ratio gauges collapsed. The pilot reported the failure of these instruments after reaching Liverpool.
The aircraft, carrying more than 200 passengers onboard, should have been grounded until at least one of the faulty engine pressure ratio gauges had been repaired. But the company allowed it to operate back across the Atlantic with both faulty gauges.
