News
09 AUG - NTSB issues recommendations on icing and CRM training for on-demand charters 09 AUG - Eighteen Dutch Defense-chartered aircraft grounded last year over safety issues
09 AUG - Transport Canada`s cancelation of NexJet AOC upheld by appeal tribunal
09 AUG - NZ Metro crash due to in-flight upset/loss of control during balancing of fuel
13 AUG - US giving $400,000 more for Caribbean aviation safety
21 AUG - AAIB issues safety recommendation on Do-238 beta range selection problem
26 AUG - Urgent NTSB recommendation on Beechjet 400 dual engine flameouts
28 AUG - NTSB issues urgent recommendations on airliner engine failures
31 AUG - FAA issues Beech 1900 emergency AD
09 AUG 2006 NTSB issues recommendations on icing and CRM training for on-demand charters [to table of contents]
During their investigation into the November 2004 crash of a Canadair Challenger at Montrose, CO, the NTSB again noted the need for FAA-approved CRM training at Part 135 on-demand charter operators. The NTSB judges the FAA`s actions in this matter `overdue` and thus reiterated safety recommendation A-03-52. The NTSB also recommended the FAA to develop visual and tactile training aids to accurately depict small amounts of upper wing surface contamination and require all commercial airplane operators to incorporate these training aids into their initial and recurrent training. (A-06-42) (NTSB)
NTSB safety recommendations
On eighteen occasions in 2005 inspectors of the Dutch Transport and Water Management Inspectorate grounded planes that were chartered by the Dutch Ministry of Defense. Fractures in cockpit windows and badly worn tires were cited. Most of the planes are said to have been chartered from Eastern European airlines for missions to Afghanistan. (Trouw) 09 AUG 2006 Transport Canada`s cancelation of NexJet AOC upheld by appeal tribunal [to table of contents]
The Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada has ruled in favour of upholding Transport Canada's decision to cancel NexJet Aviation's air operator certificate. The decision to cancel NexJet's AOC, effective on March 8, 2006, was based on a review of the company's records relating to a number of suspensions and Notices of Suspension, regulatory offences and the company's inability to demonstrate operational control, including proper record keeping and aircraft maintenance. NexJet was also found not to be operating under the conditions for which the Air Operator Certificate was issued. NexJet Aviation pursued their right to appeal through the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada within 30 days of the cancellation of their operator certificate. The Tribunal began on March 28, 2006 and a letter of decision was sent out on July 28, 2006. (Transport Canada)
News release
09 AUG 2006 NZ Metro crash due to in-flight upset/loss of control during balancing of fuel [to table of contents] According to New Zealand investigators, the May 2004 crash of a Swearingen Metro was caused by an in-flight upset which developed into a spiral dive. The crew did not recover control and the aircraft became overstressed and broke up, to fall in pieces about rural farmland near Stratford. Both crew were killed and the aircraft and cargo destroyed. The crew was balancing fuel between tanks, flying the aircraft at an excessive sideslip angle with the rudder input trimmed, while on autopilot. The autopilot capability was exceeded and it disengaged, precipitating the upset. (TAIC)
13 AUG 2006 US giving $400,000 more for Caribbean aviation safety [to table of contents] The US State Department says it will be providing an additional $400,000 in support of aviation safety initiatives in the Caribbean region. The money is in addition to $800,000 the United States has already granted to the Caribbean for the same purpose, through the FAA over the past four years. The funds are designed to standardise regional civil aviation safety regulations in the Caribbean. (Jamaica Observer) 21 AUG 2006 AAIB issues safety recommendation on Do-238 beta range selection problem [to table of contents]
The U.K. AAIB issued a recommendation to the type certificate holder for the Dornier 328 aircraft. It advises operators to provide training for pilots in dealing with occasions when power levers cannot be selected to beta range and hence cannot enter the reverse range after landing. This follows an over-run, by over 300 metres, during a landing at Aberdeen on 22 June 2006, which has been found to have similarities to a fatal over-run accident, of another example of the type, at Genoa Italy in 1999. (AAIB)
AAIB Special Bulletin S7/2006
26 AUG 2006 Urgent NTSB recommendation on Beechjet 400 dual engine flameouts [to table of contents] The NTSB issued recommendations to the FAA aimed at preventing the kind of dual engine flameouts that have occurred on three Beechjet 400 aircraft in the last 2 years that the Board is investigating. The planes were equipped with Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-5 engines. One of the recommendations is classified as Urgent. The urgent recommendation said that the FAA should require Beechjet 400 pilots to activate ignition and anti-ice systems at high altitude whenever they are in or near visible moisture, or near convective storm activity, or before any power reduction while in those conditions. The Safety Board believes that many pilots may not be aware of the risk posed by ice crystals at high altitudes. The Board issued three other recommendations dealing with the kind of information provided to pilots and with research to develop an ice detector that would alert pilots to internal engine icing. (NTSB)
NTSB safety recommendations A06-56/59
28 AUG 2006 NTSB issues urgent recommendations on airliner engine failures [to table of contents] The NTSB issued five recommendations to the FAA stemming from an ongoing investigation of an uncontained engine failure on an Boeing 767 in Los Angeles. Two of the recommendations are classified Urgent. The incident occurred on June 2, 2006, when the high-pressure turbine (HPT) stage 1 disk in the left engine, a General Electric CF6-80A failed during a maintenance ground run. The Board is aware that, as a result of the LAX incident, the FAA has issued an airworthiness directive with a schedule for maintenance -- removal, inspection, and reworking -- of CF6-80 series HPT stage 1 disks beginning at 6,900 cycles. The Safety Board, however, is proposing on an urgent basis that the FAA require that the disks be immediately removed for maintenance if they have been in service for more than 3,000 cycles since new or since the last inspection. This significantly more stringent standard would not permit disks to remain in service without inspection beyond the earliest known number of cycles at which cracks have been detected or failure has occurred. (NTSB)
Safety Recommendations A-06-60/64
31 AUG 2006 FAA issues Beech 1900 emergency AD [to table of contents] The FAA issued an Emergency AD (2006-18-51) for Beech 1900 planes after recent reports of cracks found in the wings of two Beech 1900D airplanes. During routine maintenance, the wing rear spar lower caps and rear spar web were found to have significant cracks. The AD requires a one-time visual inspection of both the left and right wing rear spar lower caps for cracking and other damage such as loose or missing fasteners. If found, cracks must be repaired and reported to the FAA. (FAA)
Emergency AD 2006-18-51
