Fixed Wing

Aeroplanes

AC-130J Prototype Written-Off After Flight Test LOC-I Overstress

Accidents & Incidents, Fixed Wing, Safety Management, Special Mission Aircraft

AC-130J Prototype Written-Off After Flight Test LOC-I Overstress The prototype US Air Force (USAF) AC-130J Ghostrider, 09-5710, has been declared a total loss after the airframe was “severely overstressed” after a Loss of Control – Inflight (LOC-I) during a flight test from Eglin AFB, Florida on 21 April 2015.  Loss of the aircraft is estimated at $115.6 million. The Occurrence The […]

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Micro FOD: Cessna 208B Grand Caravan Engine Failure & Forced Landing

Accidents & Incidents, Fixed Wing, Maintenance / Continuing Airworthiness / CAMOs, Safety Management

Micro FOD: Cessna 208B Grand Caravan Engine Failure & Forced Landing We often think of FOD, Foreign Object Damage, as something caused by a carelessly discarded piece of waste or forgotten nut or bolt.  The recently issued US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report on a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan accident in Hawaii however describes a ‘micro FOD’ accident

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ATP Serious Incident – Temporary LOC In Icing Conditions

Accidents & Incidents, Fixed Wing, Safety Management

ATP Serious Incident – Temporary LOC In Icing Conditions The Accident Investigation Board Norway (AIBN) has issued their report into a serious incident where West Air Sweden BAE Systems ATP cargo aircraft SE-MAF suffered control problems while en route on 25 September 2014.  Coincidentally, their report was issued on the eve of the 21st Anniversary of the Roselawn ATR

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Misloading Caused Fatal 2013 DHC-3 Otter Accident

Accidents & Incidents, FDM / Data Recorders, Fixed Wing, Safety Management

Misloading Caused Fatal 2013 DHC-3 Otter Accident The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation into a fatal accident to Rediske Air de Havilland DHC-3T Otter N93PC in Soldotna, Alaska on 7 July 2013, has determined it was caused by misloading. A passenger iPhone video of the aircraft’s take-off was recovered from the wreckage and analysed.  The full report can be

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EASA annual safety review 2014

EASA Annual Safety Review 2014 Published

Accidents & Incidents, Fixed Wing, Helicopters, Regulation, Safety Management

EASA Annual Safety Review 2014 Published The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Annual Safety Review for 2014 is now available at: https://www.easa.europa.eu/newsroom-and-events/general-publications/annual-safety-review-2014 Worldwide in 2014, 16 fatal accidents involved Commercial Air Transport (CAT) aeroplanes (excluding MH17, that was considered to be a hostile act).  This was two more than 2014, but still significantly below the average number of fatal accidents

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B747 JNB

BA Changes Briefings, Simulator Training and Chart Provider After B747 Accident

Accidents & Incidents, Airfields / Heliports / Helidecks, Fixed Wing, Human Factors / Performance, Safety Management

BA Changes Briefings, Simulator Training and Chart Provider After B747 Accident According to a recently released UK Civil Aviation Authority (UK CAA) FACTOR (Follow-up ACTion on Occurrence Report), British Airways (BA) have enhanced their simulator training and changed chart provider in response to a ground accident in South Africa. The Accident On 22 December 2013, BA  G-BNLL sustained substantial

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Misfuelling Accidents

Accidents & Incidents, Airfields / Heliports / Helidecks, Business Aviation, Fixed Wing, Human Factors / Performance, Safety Management

Misfuelling Accidents Misfuelling aircraft with kerosene based Jet A-1 rather than Aviation Gasoline (AVGAS) continues to be a source of accidents. PA31 15 Sept 2015 Manitoba The Canadian Transportation Safety Board (TSB) has recently released an update on the 15 September 2015 accident involving twin engined Keystone Air Service Piper PA31-350 Navajo C-FXLO at Thompson, Manitoba.  Shortly after takeoff the aircraft experienced a

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Learrjet Typhoon Mid Air Collision Germany

Mid Air Collision Typhoon & Learjet 35

Accidents & Incidents, Fixed Wing, Human Factors / Performance, Military / Defence, Regulation, Safety Management, Special Mission Aircraft

Mid Air Collision Typhoon & Learjet 35 During ‘Renegade’ air interception training a civilian Learjet 35, D-CGFI, collided with a Luftwaffe Eurofighter Typhoon.  The German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Investigation (BFU) have issued their final report and we attended an excellent briefing by the BFU at the ISASI 2015 conference.  In Germany, as in the UK, air

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CHIRP – Independent Review

Fixed Wing, Helicopters, Human Factors / Performance, Maintenance / Continuing Airworthiness / CAMOs, News, Safety Management

CHIRP – Independent Review The results of an independent review on the work of CHIRP (the Confidential Human Factors Incident Report Programme) have just been published by the British charitable trust. CHIRP Chief Executive Ian Dugmore commented that the review: …reaffirmed the requirement for an independent and confidential reporting system for the UK and recommended that

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Fuel System Maintenance Error: Tuniter ATR72 TS-LBB Ditching 6 August 2005

Accidents & Incidents, Fixed Wing, Human Factors / Performance, Maintenance / Continuing Airworthiness / CAMOs, Safety Management, Survivability / Ditching

Fuel System Maintenance Error: Tuniter ATR72 TS-LBB Ditching 6 August 2005 On the 6 August 2005 a Tuninter ATR72 turboprop aircraft, TS-LBB, flying from Bari, Italy to Tunis, Tunisia, ran out of fuel and ditched off the northern coast of Sicily.  Of the 39 people on board, 16 died. The aircraft had been erroneously fitted during maintenance with

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Inadequately Secured Cargo Caused B747F Crash at Bagram, Afghanistan

Accidents & Incidents, Fixed Wing, Human Factors / Performance, Logistics, Regulation, Safety Management

Inadequately Secured Cargo Caused B747F Crash at Bagram, Afghanistan The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has determined that a National Airlines Boeing 747 Freighter N949CA that crashed on take-off on 29 April 2013 did so because the five armoured military vehicles (2x12t and 3x18t) on-board were inadequately restrained. As the NTSB explain: These vehicles were considered a special

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A319 Double Cowling Loss and Fire – AAIB Report

Accidents & Incidents, Design & Certification, Fixed Wing, Human Factors / Performance, Maintenance / Continuing Airworthiness / CAMOs, Safety Culture, Safety Management

A319 Double Cowling Loss and Fire – AAIB Report The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has published their report into an Airbus A319 that lost both engine fan cowlings and suffered an associated fire on take-off from London Heathrow in 2013. We look at the circumstances of the previous evening’s maintenance on this aircraft,

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Metro III Low-energy Rejected Landing and CFIT

Accidents & Incidents, Fixed Wing, Human Factors / Performance, Regulation, Safety Management, Survivability / Ditching

Metro III Low-energy Rejected Landing and CFIT The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has issued a report on a fatal accident to Fairchild SA227-AC Metro III, C-GFWX, operated by Perimeter Aviation at Sanikiluaq, Nunavut, on the coast of Hudson Bay on 22 December 2012. The route from Winnipeg is normally operated by sister company Keewatin Air, but

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B767 Engine Fire – Ignition from Misrouted / Chaffed Cables

Accidents & Incidents, Fixed Wing, Human Factors / Performance, Maintenance / Continuing Airworthiness / CAMOs, Safety Management

B767 Engine Fire – Ignition from Misrouted / Chaffed Cables The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have reported on an engine fire that occurred on 11 July 2014 when: …Boeing B-767-332, registration number N139DL, operated by Delta Air Lines (DAL)… powered by two General Electric (GE) CF6-80A2 turbofan engines, experienced a left engine (No. 1)

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US Part 5 SMS Progress

Fixed Wing, Regulation, Safety Management

US Part 5 Safety Management System Progress (June 2015) US Part 121 air carriers now have less than 3 months to submit their Part 5 Safety Management System (SMS) implementation plans to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).  Of course the more proactive US Part 121 operators have already introduced an SMS. After a long rule-making process, the final rule

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Cessna Citation Excel Controls Freeze

Accidents & Incidents, Business Aviation, Fixed Wing, Maintenance / Continuing Airworthiness / CAMOs, Safety Management

Cessna Citation Excel Controls Freeze On final approach to Traverse City, MI on 26 March 2014 the Pilot Flying of a Cessna Citation Excel N580QS discovered that the aircraft rudder pedals were ‘hard or frozen’.  The results of the subsequent investigation published by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed an unusual dormant failure. History of the Flight

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UK AAIB Report on Two Ground Collisions

Accidents & Incidents, Airfields / Heliports / Helidecks, Fixed Wing, Human Factors / Performance, Safety Management

UK AAIB Report on Two Ground Collisions In their May 2015 Bulletin the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) published two separate reports of night-time collisions between aircraft and obstacles on the apron / ramp last winter.  Both highlight factors that can increase risk. Collision 1 The AAIB report that after refuelling at Newquay Airport on

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Ready Salted ATR72 and WP-3D

Accidents & Incidents, Fixed Wing, Helicopters, Offshore, Safety Management, Special Mission Aircraft

Ready Salted ATR72 and WP-3D The Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) have reported on a serious incident involving Aer Arann (later Stobart Air) ATR72-212A, EI-REL on 2 January 2014.  The findings are highly relevant not only to fixed wing aircraft operating at moderate altitudes over the sea but also offshore helicopter operators. The ATR72… ….carried out a

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Culture + Non Compliance + Mechanical Failures = DC3 Accident

Accidents & Incidents, Fixed Wing, Human Factors / Performance, Maintenance / Continuing Airworthiness / CAMOs, Regulation, Safety Culture, Safety Management

Culture + Non Compliance + Mechanical Failures = DC-3 Accident (Buffalo Airways C-GWIR) The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) recently issued a report on the forced landing of a 1942 Douglas DC-3 C-GWIR after an engine failure on 19 August 2013. The Buffalo Airways aircraft was operating a scheduled passenger flight between Yellowknife and Hay River

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