News
02 MAR - FAA Gives Poland IASA Rating of Category I 03 MAR - Allied Pilots Association submits results to NTSB on AA Flight 587 investigation
05 MAR - Hydro Air sues Lagos Airport
05 MAR - UK Ministry of Defence under pressure over 1982 Norway crash
10 MAR - Swiss chief steps down over crash inquiry
13 MAR - Pilot fined after breath test
13 MAR - China Airlines faces fine over 2002 Penghu crash
13 MAR - Nigeria revokes licenses of IRS Airlines and Slok Airlines
16 MAR - ATSB releases B737-800 Darwin runway overshoot investigation report
19 MAR - CASA begins pilot alcohol and drug test review
20 MAR - Prosecutors to charge controllers over near miss of JAL planes
20 MAR - UTA B727 crash possibly caused by overloading
29 MAR - Luxor Air banned from flying in France
02 MAR 2004 FAA Gives Poland IASA Rating of Category I [to table of contents]
The FAA announced that Poland meets international standards for aviation safety and has been awarded a Category 1 rating. Poland was previously rated Category 2. (FAA)
News release APA 03-04
The Allied Pilots Association (APA) submitted its official recommendations to the NTSB following a nearly three-year long investigation into the crash of American Airlines Flight 587. APA investigators said four areas were critical in causing the accident, including the fact that aircraft manufacturer Airbus failed to notify pilots about the unique characteristics of the rudder control system. (APA) 05 MAR 2004 Hydro Air sues Lagos Airport [to table of contents]
South African cargo company Hydro Air is to sue the Nigerian Airports Authority for R119m after an error by the Nigerians caused its only plane to crash on a runway in November last year. An investigation found that both the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and the air traffic controller were to blame for leaving the lights on on the wrong runway and then giving clearance to the Hydro Air pilot to land. (Business Day) 05 MAR 2004 UK Ministry of Defence under pressure over 1982 Norway crash [to table of contents]
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) is under new pressure to release details of its operations in northern Norway on the day a Twin Otter crashed, killing all 15 people on board. An official parliamentary inquiry in Oslo has declared it intends to visit the UK to obtain detailed answers about RAF flights on 11 March, 1982 because it is deemed possible that a Harrier jet collided with the Twin Otter. (BBC)
BBC News article
10 MAR 2004 Swiss chief steps down over crash inquiry [to table of contents] André Dosé, the chief executive of Swiss International Air Lines and formed head of Crossair, has stepped down after becoming entangled in an investigation into the Crossair Avro RJ.100 crash near Zurich three years ago that left 24 people dead. He made this decision because any potential investigation would have the effect of making it impossible for him to operate as chief of Swiss. (Neue Zürcher Zeitung) 13 MAR 2004 Pilot fined after breath test [to table of contents]
A Royal Air Maroc pilot, reported by passengers for flying his Boeing 737 erratically, was fined 1,500 euros on March 11 after a breath test showed he had a blood alcohol level of 0,05 percent. (Express) 13 MAR 2004 China Airlines faces fine over 2002 Penghu crash [to table of contents]
The Taiwanese CAA will fine China Airlines NT$1.8 million after new evidence emerged to indicate the carrier was to blame for a crash of a Boeing 747 off Penghu in May 2002. Maintenance records indicate that the airline failed to conduct corrosion inspections every four years as required. (Taipei Times) 13 MAR 2004 Nigeria revokes licenses of IRS Airlines and Slok Airlines [to table of contents]
The Nigerian government revoked the operating licenses of Slok and IRS Airlines. Start-up airline Slok Airlines operated 4 Boeing 737-200 planes instead of the two that they were allowed to operate. An IRS Airlines plane recently destroyed ILS equipment at the Kaduna Airport while it was taking off for a flight to Jeddah during Hajj Operation. (The Guardian Lagos, This Day) 16 MAR 2004 ATSB releases B737-800 Darwin runway overshoot investigation report [to table of contents]
On 11 June 2002, Boeing 737-800 VH-VOE overran the runway at Darwin and came to a stop about 44m into the 90m runway end safety area. The ATSB’s final investigation report has found that this happened because of a high approach speed, an inaccurate and unstabilised approach, and poor crew resource management. (ATSB)
media relase
19 MAR 2004 CASA begins pilot alcohol and drug test review [to table of contents] The Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) says it will complete the first stage of a review of drugs and alcohol testing for pilots within a month. The Federal Government has announced plans to reassess the current system after investigations found traces of alcohol and marijuana in the body of a pilot involved in a fatal accident off north Queensland. (ABC) 20 MAR 2004 Prosecutors to charge controllers over near miss of JAL planes [to table of contents]
Two air traffic controllers involved in a near miss between two Japan Airlines (JAL) passenger planes that injured 83 passengers in 2001 will likely be charged by prosecutors. The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office has reportedly decided to indict the air traffic controllers without arrest for issuing wrong directions to aircraft that almost resulted in a collision. (Mainichi Shimbun)
ASN incident description
20 MAR 2004 UTA B727 crash possibly caused by overloading [to table of contents] Preliminary investigation results indicate that the UTA Boeing 727 that crashed on takeoff from Cotonou, Benin last year may have been caused by overloading. The plane was carrying about 10 tonnes of excess cargo and the weight was badly distributed. (BBC) 29 MAR 2004 Luxor Air banned from flying in France [to table of contents]
France has banned Egyptian airline Luxor Air from flying in the country after one of its MD-83 planes took `a completely abnormal` flight path at low altitude over Nantes on March 21. (AP)
