[Peetwo]

Delusions of adequacy??

I may be imagining things, but I recall a time when the ATSB produced a half-decent report on aviation accidents and incidents.
The 2001 Toowoomba C90 accident comes to mind. I may be completely wrong of course, and the memory does play tricks.. please correct me if they made a hash of that one too.

It seems things go from bad to worse, but surely the downward spiral of ineptitude can't continue indefinitely?
Actually.. it probably can get worse. If you were writing a performance appraisal on Chester & friends, a likely summary would read: 'He has reached rock bottom and has now started to dig'

It's to be hoped that these entities rediscover the fundamentals: Accurate reporting and relevant recommendations, produced in a timely manner.

Surely that isn't too much to wish for?

Top post Pix and indeed the Toowoomba C90 fatal prang was an exemplary ATSB report... : Beech Aircraft Corporation C90, VH-LQH, Toowoomba, Qld

& supplementary report: 200507077

However the issue with that report was not with the ATSB but with CASA, who effectively O&O'd most of the ATSB safety recommendations and Coroner conclusions that were addressed to them - see page 7 to 10 in PAIN report: Response to Coronial inquiry. Fatal air accidents.   

Coroner Barnes.

http://www.courts.qld.gov.au/__data/asse...070809.pdf

Relevant quote: “It is impossible to say that had CASA been more searching during the audit undertaken in the period 20 – 23 August 2001 that the problems that lead to the fatal crash would have been detected. Nonetheless the failure of CASA to make any further inquiries in relation to these aspects of the operator’s maintenance systems and performance was, in my view, less than the public could reasonably expect of the authority.”

---

Comment – April 2012.

CASA argue throughout the ATSB recommendations and Coroner’s inquest, that their approval, audit and surveillance systems are robust enough to capture non-compliant, rogue elements of AOC or COA holders. However the evidence would seem to indicate otherwise. Therefore, we believe, some of the causal factors in this accident have not been addressed by the regulator and remain ‘high risk’ for a similar accident scenario occurring.

MTF...P2

Ps. Maybe some interesting parallels to rake over between the C90 Toowoomba prang and the tragic B200 Essendon fatal accident - reference pg 7 para 5 & 6:

(5) The ATSB recommends that CASA consider providing formal advisory material for

operators and pilots, based on relevant research and publications, about managing

engine failures and other emergencies during takeoff in multi-engine aircraft below

5,700 kg MTOW. This material should include the factors to be considered by operators

when developing procedures for responding to such emergencies.

(6) The ATSB recommends that CASA consider and evaluate options to improve the

suitability of industry practices for training pilots to make appropriate decisions when

responding to engine failures and other emergencies during critical phases of flight in

multi-engine aircraft below 5,700 kg MTOW. This review should include an assessment of

the suitability of utilising synthetic training devices for the purpose of training pilots to

make decisions regarding emergencies.

& from Kharon Accidents - Domestic thread post:

"..Anyway - since when in this good world, was ‘V1’ ever, ever a consideration in the performance manual or even the approved certification data for the type? Never is the correct answer. Then the ‘expert’ fails to mention that the Auto feather would kick in and that saves valuable seconds at the ‘imaginary’ V1 cut; remember, V1 is but a fleeting second of time – a heartbeat. If you are using a ‘tight’ field length it is prudent to manage the T/Off speed schedule to make damn sure that you can either safely stop or safely go. This means a schedule which gets the aircraft as quickly as possible – to a ‘safe’ speed; preferably above single engine climb speeds. Why? Well if you ‘loose’ one below that speed, it is a sods job to accelerate and gain the additional speed needed for climb; but if you have obtained a better speed than minimum when you ‘loose’ it; even if the aircraft decelerates, then climb is still possible, even probable. There is that wonderful moment when the ‘Speedo’ ticks through to climb speed and the climb indicator shows a positive ‘UP’. Aside, you do realise there is a CASA mutt knocking about who even tries to insist that a reduction from a happy V2+10 to the scheduled V2 is the only ‘right’ way to manage a single engine climb.."

"K" - I did eventually remember to qualify the availability of FAR 25 performance data , with the attached conditions.Toot toot.