[Peetwo]

MH370: The "he said, she said" & DOI latest.

In the Oz today 'that man' is back stirring the MH370 "he said, she said" pot: 

MH370 ‘flash fire’ theory rejected by air crash experts


An alleged charred piece of wreckage from MH370 as shown on the Seven Network’s news.
Ean Higgins
The Australian
12:00AM September 16, 2016

@EanHiggins
[img=0x0]http://pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/author/0573acb566bb47c45e64e4c55a998aba/?esi=true&t_product=the-australian&t_template=s3/austemp-article_common/vertical/author/widget&td_bio=false[/img]
International aviation experts have debunked renewed speculation that a “flash fire” brought down Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

Air crash investigators and an aerospace engineer say logic combined with the known facts work against the theory, and that the provenance of a supposedly charred piece of wreckage is ­suspect.

They also describe a recent US Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness directive regarding replacing oxygen mask tubes on Boeing 777s as routine and in this case irrelevant since it would not have applied to MH370.

The FAA had issued the directive to replace “the low-pressure oxygen flex hoses in the gaseous passenger oxygen system” of some 777 models because they could “potentially be conductive” and lead to oxygen fires. But Malaysia Airlines and the FAA have confirmed the model of 777 used on flight MH370 was not equipped with the oxygen system in question.

“The Boeing 777 used in flight MH370 would not have been ­affected by this AD,” the FAA said.

Airlines that do have the model have six years to comply.

The FAA directive was one of two developments this week which prompted renewed discussion about whether a fire could explain the loss of MH370, which disappeared on March 8, 2014, on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to ­Beijing with 239 people aboard.
Wing flap is part of MH370

US lawyer Blaine Gibson, who is mounting his own amateur quest to find pieces of MH370 on the African coast and Indian Ocean islands, claims he had found “the most significant piece of potential wreckage” in the form of a blackened piece of panel which he handed over to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

“The top layer of paint has been singed, scorched black,” Mr Gibson told Channel 7 in Perth.

A spokeswoman for the ATSB said the object had “yet to be examined” and “comments about the state of the debris are entirely speculative”.

A member of the independent group of experts investigating the MH370 mystery, British aerospace engineer Richard Godfrey, said a photo of the debris “shows burn marks underneath the ­location of a fastener or bracket”.

“This implies that the item, even if from MH370, was thrown on a fire (possibly a beach fire) after the crash.”

Mr Godfrey is one of three experts who say the idea that a fire could explain the loss of MH370 does not add up. “No aircraft with a fire on board managed to fly for much more than 20 minutes, let alone seven hours,” he said.

Veteran US pilot and air crash investigator John Cox said: “In every other case where a fire has existed (eg, UPS 006, Asiana 991, SwissAir 111) the crew has made a radio call and initiated a diversion. MH370 did not do either of those.”

Another investigator described the fire theory as “all but impossible”. “Basic logic says that such a fire does not make any sense when you break it down from an investigation point of view,” he said.

Forever the opportunist resident Aviation Section (the Oz) troll Mick, predictively fired yet another salvo back over the Oz foredeck...

Mick 3 hours ago

In keeping with The Australian's astounding ability to botch facts regarding MH370 today were treated to more misinformation, this time regarding a mandatory airworthiness directive for B777 operators to replace the low-pressure oxygen hoses associated with the crew's oxygen system (the hoses in question attach the crew's quick-donning oxygen masks to the oxygen system) issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Contrary to what we're told in this article, FAA AD 2012-13-05 requires B777 operators to "... Replace the low-pressure oxygen hoses with non-conductive low-pressure oxygen hoses in the flight compartment ..." and sets a time frame for compliance of "Within 18 months after the effective date of this AD ...".   The directive's effective date was 16 August 2012.

And if Mr Higgins had bothered consulting the Factual Information Report released by The Malaysian ICAO Annex 13 Safety Investigation Team for MH370 well over a year ago he would know that not only did the FAA directive apply to the Malaysian Airlines B777 fleet but that MAS had in fact actioned that directive on 9M-MRO (the B777 that operated as MH370) on 17 January 2014.

---

&..

Mick 2 hours ago

@graham Yes, graham, the AD came off the back of the Egyptair MS 667 fire.   Boeing issued a number of recommendations as a result of that fire:

Alert Service Bulletin 777-35A0027, dated 15 December 2011, recommending that operators of early model B777 airplanes replace low pressure oxygen hoses with non-conductive low pressure oxygen hoses located in the flight deck; and

Service Bulletin 777-33-0042, dated 9 January 2012, recommending that B777 operators inspect and if necessary repair the captain's and first officer's oxygen light plate wiring.

Alert Service Bulletin 777-35A0027, which was only a recommendation for early model B777s, was superseded by FAA AD 2012-13-05, which was a mandatory requirement for all B777s.

This stuff is all a matter of the public record. It is appalling that an aviation reporter manages to consistently botch this sort of factual information.

Oh well at least he has got off Binger's case..

Next at about dinnertime last night the ATSB tweeped the following:

#MH370 report: Debris examination – update No.3: Identification of large flap section recovered off Tanzanian coast http://tinyurl.com/z2upmkm

Published: 15 September 2016

Debris examination – update No. 3
Identification of large flap section recovered off the Tanzanian coast

Introduction

On 20 June 2016, a large item of debris was found on the island of Pemba, off the coast of Tanzania. Preliminary identification from photographs indicated that the item was likely a section of Boeing 777 outboard flap (Figure 1).

Assistance from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) was requested by the Malaysian Government in the formal identification of the item, to determine if the item came from the Malaysian Airlines Berhad (MAB) aircraft, registered 9M-MRO and operating as MH370. The Malaysian investigation team secured the item of debris and arranged shipping to the ATSB facilities in Canberra.

This document (Update 3) is a brief summary of the outcomes from the identification of the item, designated as Part number 5. It follows the identification of Part numbers 1 through 4, the outcomes of which were released by the ATSB in Updates 1 and 2, available on the ATSB website.

This debris identification summary is released with the concurrence of the Malaysian ICAO Annex 13 Safety Investigation Team for MH370.

Identification

Part No. 5
Part number 5 was preliminarily identified from photographs as an inboard section of a Boeing 777 outboard flap. On arrival at the ATSB, several part numbers were immediately located on the debris that confirmed the preliminary identification. This was consistent with the physical appearance, dimensions and construction of the part.

A date stamp associated with one of the part numbers indicated manufacture on 23 January 2002 (Figure 2), which was consistent with the 31 May 2002 delivery date for 9M-MRO.

All of the identification stamps had a second “OL” number, in addition to the Boeing part number, that were unique identifiers relating to part construction. The Italian part manufacturer recovered build records for the numbers located on the part and confirmed that all of the numbers related to the same serial number outboard flap that was shipped to Boeing as line number 404. Aircraft line number 404 was delivered to Malaysian Airlines and registered as 9M-MRO.

Based on the above information, the part was confirmed as originating from the aircraft registered 9M-MRO and operating as MH370.

Figure 1: Inboard section of outboard flap (inverted)


Source: ATSB

Figure 2: Exemplar part number and date stamp


Source: ATSB

Further analysis

At the time of writing, the flap section was being examined for any evidence of interaction with mechanisms, supports and surrounding components (such as the flaperon, which abuts the inboard end of the outboard flap) that may indicate the state of flap operation at the time of separation from the wing. This information may contribute to an increased understanding of end of flight scenarios.

Conclusions
It was confirmed that Part No. 5 was the inboard section of a Boeing 777 right, outboard flap, originating from the Malaysian Airlines aircraft registered 9M-MRO.
   
Overview

At 1722 Coordinated Universal Time on 7 March 2014, Boeing 777-200ER aircraft, registered 9M-MRO and operating as Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, disappeared from air traffic control radar and a search was commenced by Malaysian authorities. The aircraft had taken off from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on a scheduled passenger service to Beijing, China with 227 passengers and 12 crew on board.

Under Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation (Annex 13) Malaysia, as the country of registration, has investigative responsibility for the accident.

On 31 March 2014, the Malaysian Government accepted the Government of Australia’s offer to take the lead in the search and recovery operation in the southern Indian Ocean in support of the Malaysian accident investigation. This assistance and expertise will be provided through the accredited representative mechanism of Annex 13.

In accordance with paragraphs 5.23 and 5.24 of Annex 13, on 1 April 2014, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) appointed an accredited representative and a number of advisors to the accredited representative (ATSB investigators). These investigators’ work will be undertaken as part of an External Investigation under the provisions of the Australian Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003.

The Malaysian Ministry of Transport is responsible for and will administer the release of all investigation reports into this accident. Information on the investigation is available from the following websites:

• www.mh370.gov.my
  
• mh370.mot.gov.my
  

Any enquiries in respect of the ongoing investigation should, in the first instance, be directed to:

Malaysian Annex 13 Safety Investigation Team
Email: MH370SafetyInvestigation@mot.gov.my
 
General details

Date: 07 Mar 2014
 
Investigation status: Active
 
Time: 1722 UTC
 
Investigation type: External Investigation
 
Location   (show map): Southern Indian Ocean
 
Occurrence type: Missing aircraft
 
State: International
 
Occurrence class: Technical
 
Release date: 24 May 2016
 
Occurrence category: Technical Analysis
 
Report status: Pending
 
Highest injury level: Fatal
 
Expected completion: Nov 2016
 
Aircraft details

Aircraft model: 777-200ER
 
Aircraft registration: 9M-MRO
 
Operator: Malaysian Airlines
 
Type of operation: Air Transport High Capacity
 
Sector: Jet
 
Departure point: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Destination: Beijing, China
 
 
 

MTF...P2