[Peetwo]

Update: Essendon B200 tragedy 22/02/17.

Totally agree P1 on the Minister's brief but succinct and appropriate statement, amazing how it almost perfectly mirrors the sentiments in the Ferryman's post above...

Starting to sift through the wheat from chaff with the overloaded and mostly ill informed MSM coverage on this tragic accident...

First from the Oz:

‘We’re ready to change airport’

9:16amRosie Lewis

Daniel Andrews says governments “ready to make any changes” to Essendon Airport: new dashcam footage shows fireball.


From below, the moments before

12:00amRICK MORTON, CHIP LE GRAND

Four American tourists had scarcely settled into their seats when the light aircraft’s engine failed.


Key seconds before losing control

12:00am Byron Bailey

12:00AM February 22, 2017

The Beechcraft King Air is one of the world’s most popular and safe general aviation aircraft. I flew one between leaving the RAAF and entering airlines. It has ultra-­reliable PT6 turboprop engines.

Jet aircraft are required to be able to suffer an engine failure at any stage, from brakes-release-and-stop on the runway prior to decision speed V1, and after V1 continue keeping straight with rudder and then lift off and safely fly away straight ahead at take-off safety speed V2, keeping wings level via the control wheel and achieve a 2.4 per cent climb gradient. All jet aircraft — airline and corporate — have adequate single-engine thrust and flight performance at maximum take-off weights and high temperatures to safely achieve this.

The propeller-driven turboprop King Air aircraft are certified to a less demanding performance requirement to achieve a 1 per cent climb on one engine to 5000ft after engine failure on take-off.

The critical problem arises in those few seconds between raising the undercarriage and achieving single-engine take-off safety speed of 103 knots. Engine failure before gear retraction means the pilot will close down the remaining engine power and attempt to land back on the runway. Engine failure after achieving take-off safety speed will — after the pilot performs vital drills including feathering the failed engine to reduce drag — enable the aircraft to climb away.

If the engine fails in those few seconds between gear-up and take-off safety speed then the aircraft will not have enough performance to safely fly — through inadequate rudder authority to counteract the yaw towards the failed engine and excessive drag, which means a loss of control and roll over towards the failed engine.

It appears this aircraft did not have a black box, which makes it harder for crash investigators. However, this is a very rare event.

Byron Bailey, a senior captain with Emirates for 15 years, has more than 45 years’ experience and 26,000 flying hours, and is a former RAAF fighter pilot.

Aircraft’s tainted safety record

12:00amANTHONY KLAN

Three of the nation’s worst aviation disasters - as well as yesterday’s - have involved a Beechcraft Super King Air.


Airport fears ‘swept under rug’

12:00amBEN WILMOT, DAMON KITNEY

Aircraft safety authorities and governments ignored years of warnings from local residents who held safety concerns.

 

Next from the ABC online:

Essendon plane crash charter company involved in near miss in 2015
Updated about 5 hours ago Wed 22 Feb 2017, 6:56am

Video: Aerial footage shows plane crash site at a shopping centre near Essendon Airport (Courtesy Channel 9) (ABC News)

Authorities probing the cause of yesterday's fatal air crash at a shopping centre near Melbourne's Essendon Airport have been investigating a near miss involving the same charter company, it has been revealed.

Key points:

• Pilot investigated after his plane came within 100 metres of another aircraft at Mount Hotham in 2015
  
• Four American tourists among five dead after plane crashed into Essendon DFO yesterday
  
• Large buildings close to airport runways dangerous, advocate says
  

Pilot Max Quartermain and four American tourists were killed when their Beechcraft B200 Super King Air experienced engine failure soon after take-off from Essendon Airport on Tuesday.

The plane, which was headed for King Island off Tasmania's north coast, crashed into the DFO shopping centre and exploded into flames.

The ABC understands Mr Quartermain was under investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) after his plane, with a call signal VH-OWN, came within 100 metres of another aircraft in bad weather at Mt Hotham in September 2015.

An investigation summary reported the plane had "tracking difficulties" on approach to Mt Hotham during a charter flight as low cloud had made conditions difficult.

Video: Dashcam video shows the moment the plane crashed into the shopping centre (Courtesy 10 News) (ABC News)

The summary reads: "VH-OWN was then observed to carry out significant manoeuvring while on short final to the runway before landing."



Photo: Max Quartermain was ordered to re-do his instrument rating qualifications after a near miss. (Supplied: Corporate and Leisure Aviation)

Although Mr Quartermain was not named in the ATSB report, the ABC understands he was ordered to re-do his instrument rating qualifications after the Hotham incident.

"Following the incident at Mount Hotham, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority required the pilot to undergo some additional proficiency checks. They were done, the pilot passed those checks," a CASA spokesman said.

"And in subsequent checks done prior to yesterday's flight ... the pilot has passed all of those."

Authorities said the cause of the crash near Essendon Airport was still under investigation.

Pilot described by friends as highly respected

Mr Quartermain was the co-owner of Corporate and Leisure Aviation, which operated the plane.
Photo: Five people, including four American tourists, were killed when the plane experienced engine failure soon after take off. (AAP: Joe Castro)

The company's website said he had more than 38 years of charter experience and "an impeccable safety record".

At least three friends of Mr Quartermain contacted the ABC yesterday and described him as being a highly respected and trusted pilot.

CASA records showed the plane which crashed at Essendon yesterday, with the call sign VH-ZCR, was registered with Australian Corporate Jet Centres at Essendon.

When contacted last night, the ABC was referred to the company's chief executive, Vas Nikolovski, who did not return calls.

Some 'commercial development incompatible with aviation'

Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association executive director Benjamin Morgan said planning rules which had allowed large buildings close to airport runways meant pilots no longer had space in the case of emergencies.

"Distinctly separate from the investigation that will take place now, I do see an issue in the location of DFO," he told ABC Radio Melbourne.

Photo: A wheel on the Tullamarine Freeway that came from the plane. (ABC News: Jane Cowan)

"The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association over the last two decades has been advocating quite strongly to the government and various stakeholders that there has been far too much commercial and industrial development that is simply incompatible with aviation.

"I think that what we're looking at here is not isolated to Essendon, it is replicated at many airports around the country and it has come as the result of airport privatisation and it's a very sad outcome."

Mr Morgan said both private and commercial flights, however, were subject to stringent checks.

"Certainly the Beechcraft King Air is renowned globally as being a very reliable and safe aircraft," he said.

"We, like the rest of Australia, find this accident incredibly terrible and sad."

Police said it would be several more days before air safety investigators finished examining the scene after the crash.

Essendon Airport and the shopping centre will be closed while investigations continue.

Out of all the completely saturated MSM coverage and speculation so far one of the most disturbing and possibly revealing pieces of media (IMO) is the short dash cam footage...

On this comment:

"..The final report was due to be released last year, but has been delayed several times. A final report is due in May..."

& this capture from Pixie... :

There was also this quote from the ATSB investigation webpage - AO-2015-108

Updated 19 December 2016

Completion of the draft investigation report has been further delayed by the involvement of the investigator in charge on other aviation safety investigations and tasks. It is now anticipated for release to directly involved parties (DIP) for comment in March 2017. Feedback from those parties over the 28-day DIP period on the factual accuracy of the draft report will be considered for inclusion in the final report, which is anticipated to be released to the public no later than May 2017.

No surprises there hey Pix..

I will again highlight that these 'administrative delays' and O&O (top-cover) excuses have now become a clear 'normalised deficiency' associated with nearly all higher profile serious incidents and/or accidents.

Definitely MTF!...P2