The Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) has rightly taken away the recognition of aircraft maintenance company ATN Aircraft Division, according to the Council of State. The measure led to the closure of the Hoogeveen company, which had a building near Hoogeveen airport.
The owner of ATN went to court when the ILT withdrew his recognition, but the Northern Netherlands court sent him home empty-handed. Yesterday, on appeal, he was also not vindicated by the Council of State. The highest administrative court agrees with the ILT that flight safety has been seriously endangered by ATN.
The Council of State considers it proportionate that the measure means that the company can no longer carry out aircraft maintenance at the highest level after 36 years and must close. ”We are bankrupt. My livelihood is in ruins,” the owner said at the Council of State two months ago.
In December 2021, the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) discovered that ATN was working with uncalibrated test tools. This means that the measuring instruments are no longer accurate enough. According to the ILT, this posed a direct threat to flight safety.
The Hoogeveen company had accreditation at the highest level, which was suspended and later taken away completely. Equipment such as dial indicators and cable tension meters must be regularly checked for accuracy. Inspections revealed that ATN Aircraft did not do this in accordance with the instrument manufacturer’s rules. After checks, the ILT decided to suspend recognition in October 2021.
ATN had to inform customers who had their aircraft maintained by the company about this. That didn’t happen. ILT did this itself in April 2022. The Hoogeveen aviation company states that the instruments have been calibrated according to the aircraft factory’s regulations. These would be equivalent to the instrument manufacturer’s protocols. The Council of State agrees with the ILT that this is incorrect.
