Aircraft engineer fired after Singapore Airlines A350 delay wins unfair dismissal case

An aircraft maintenance engineer who was dismissed after a 17-minute delay involving a Singapore Airlines Airbus A350 at Brisbane Airport has won an unfair dismissal case in Australia.

Mohammad Israfel Khan was employed by Heston MRO, which provides maintenance services to Singapore Airlines and other airlines. On November 2, 2025, Khan was troubleshooting recurring fault messages on a Singapore Airlines A350 and carried out a power reset of the aircraft’s systems. The reset cleared four diagnostic faults but contributed to a 17-minute delay.

Singapore Airlines subsequently complained about the action and requested that Khan’s maintenance authorisation for its aircraft be removed.

What followed became a dispute over “just culture” in aircraft maintenance.

Heston MRO initially investigated the incident and concluded that Khan had not knowingly violated procedures. The investigation found no malicious intent and classified the incident as a “no blame error“, concluding that another engineer could reasonably have made the same decision in the circumstances.

However, a subsequent investigation classified Khan’s action as a “reckless violation“, and he was dismissed in December 2025.

Australia’s Fair Work Commission found the dismissal unjust. Khan had not been given a show-cause notice or an opportunity to respond to the allegations before the dismissal decision was made. The commission also found that the evidence did not establish the serious misconduct alleged by Heston MRO.

Khan was not reinstated, partly because of the breakdown in trust with his former employer and because Singapore Airlines had refused to restore his maintenance authorisation.

Heston MRO was ordered to pay Khan A$41,203.65 (around €23,500) in compensation, plus 12% superannuation.

The case highlights the challenges of applying “just culture” principles in aircraft maintenance: distinguishing between deliberate or reckless violations and an honest error made while attempting to resolve an aircraft problem.