澳大利亚公平工作委员会裁定，新加坡航空维修承包商Heston MRO因一起飞行前重启飞机事件而解雇工程师的程序存在不当[1]。该事件导致航班延误17分钟，虽然委员会未判令工程师复职，但裁定公司需支付其超过4万澳元的赔偿[1]。
事件发生于2024年11月，当时这名拥有超过25年工作经验的工程师在飞行前重启飞机以清除错误[1]。初步调查结论认为其操作属于标准做法，未违反程序[1]。然而，新加坡航空随后撤销了该工程师的维修权限，理由是存在"误操作事件"，而第二份调查报告则将其操作定性为"鲁莽违规"[1]。
公平工作委员会主任克里斯·辛普森指出，有明确证据表明新加坡航空对初步报告不满意，在随后的沟通中，报告审查产生了不同结果，"但这些结论并未得到本听证会证据的支持"[1]。委员会认为工程师的操作在安全上无虞且符合标准实践，公司未在解雇前给予其充分的申辞机会[1]。该工程师自2023年5月起在Heston MRO工作，合同原定至2025年12月[1]。
An engineer at Heston MRO maintenance company was terminated following an incident in which he rebooted a Singapore Airlines aircraft before flight to clear an error, resulting in a 17-minute delay.[1] Australia's Fair Work Commission determined that the dismissal procedure was procedurally unfair. The engineer was not reinstated but received compensation exceeding 40,000 Australian dollars.[1]
The commission found that the engineer's actions constituted standard maintenance practice and posed no safety risk.[1] However, the body concluded that Singapore Airlines' dissatisfaction with an initial investigation report—which had classified the operation as "standard procedure"—likely influenced the company to revise its findings to characterize the work as "reckless and non-compliant."[1] Fair Work Commission chair Chris Simpson stated: "There is clear evidence that Singapore Airlines was dissatisfied with the preliminary report. Following this communication, a review of the report produced a different result...not supported by the evidence heard at this hearing."[1]
The engineer, who had worked at Heston MRO from May 2023 to December 2025 and held over 25 years of aviation maintenance experience, was stripped of his maintenance authorization by Singapore Airlines in November 2024 citing the "misoperation incident."[1] The commission also noted that the engineer had undertaken unauthorized part-time work with Virgin Australia, a separate breach of employment terms.[1] However, the commission determined that insufficient procedural safeguards and opportunity for the engineer to respond to allegations preceded the termination decision.[1]