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More on SACAA Convair preliminary investigation report - 

Via the Oz:

Air crash report ‘full of holes’
ROBYN IRONSIDE
A report on last month’s fatal Convair crash involving two Australian pilots is full of mistakes, aviation officials say.

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Convair crash report ‘full of holes’

A South African Civil Aviation Authority report on last month’s fatal Convair crash involving two Australian pilots has been criticised as riddled with inaccuracies and “opinions” of the engineer ­investigators.

Retired Qantas senior check captain David Harris, who travelled to Johannesburg immediately after the crash, said the assertion one of the pilots was not “type-rated” for the Convair 340 was among a series of errors.

Other inaccuracies included the geographical co-ordinates of the crash site, the time of take-off and the investigators’ interpretation of the pilots’ communication as apparent confusion rather than standard procedure.

A licensed aircraft maintenance engineer on board the 64-year-old plane was killed when it crashed into a building outside Wonderboom Airport in Pretoria on July 10.

A total of 19 people were on the joy flight, which was being undertaken ahead of a trip to the Convair’s new home at the Aviodrome Museum in The Netherlands.

The SACAA’s preliminary ­report, released on August 11, said documents and licences made available to the investigation team showed only the flight captain was rated on the aircraft.

It is understood the family of the first officer did not hand over his licence to investigators following the crash, which left both ­pilots critically injured. But Mr Harris said it would have been easy enough for the SACAA to check the licences of the two pilots with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau or the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.

Qantas training captain Douglas Haywood has since returned to Australia for ongoing hospital treatment in Sydney, while ­recently retired Qantas captain Ross Kelly remains in an induced coma in Johannesburg.

Mr Harris said Australia’s aviation community was aghast at the SACAA report.

“It’s a reaction of disbelief that the investigators could get it so wrong,” he said. “These two guys are the most senior pilots in Australia. They have done everything, from training captains on the A380 to flying Mustangs and Spitfires. Everybody knows them.”

He said it was clear that ­although the investigators understood the technical and mechanical details of flying, they had little appreciation for the pilots’ job. “They are clearly out of their depth on this investigation,” Mr Harris said.

One of the most “scathing” findings of the preliminary report was that crew resource management was lacking, he said. “Both these guys taught CRM, which is an integral part of a multi-crew situation,” he said. “The investigators may have some training in CRM but I doubt they’ve ever had first-hand ­experience.”

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has provided an “accredited representative” to ­assist the SACAA with its ­investigation, and help obtain ­information requested by the South African investigators from involved parties in Australia. “It is not the role of ATSB to review any reports of this investigation,” an ATSB spokesman said.

And also from the Oz today:

Wrong wiring forced diversion

ROBYN IRONSIDE
The cause of a fire in an Etihad Airways’ jet that forced the passenger flight to divert to Adelaide has been revealed.

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Incorrectly installed wiring has been blamed for a fire in the cargo compartment of an Etihad Airways’ jet that forced the passenger flight to divert to Adelaide.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has today released its final report on the October 14, 2017 incident involving a Boeing 777-300 en route from Abu Dhabi to Sydney.

The report said the flight crew noticed a burning smell coming from an air vent, which was followed by a message warning of a fire in the forward cargo.

In response, the pilots actioned the “non-normal checklist” closing the air vents in the forward cargo compartment, and discharging two fire extinguishers in the section.

A “mayday” message was sent to Air Traffic Control as the aircraft diverted to Adelaide as the nearest suitable airport for the 777-300.

After landing uneventfully, emergency services inspected the aircraft externally but could not find any fire or hot spots, and passengers were disembarked without incident.

A further inspection after the cargo compartment was emptied, found soot and heat damage between the cabin floor and upper cargo ceiling panel.

Further investigations revealed a wiring bundle had been incorrected routed, and as a result the wires came into contract with screws and nutplates.

Over time, the bundle chafed through the insulation coating, allowing the wire to short circuit.

Boeing reported it was the fifth such incident involving wire chafing and arcing in the cargo area of a 777, but it was the first event to trigger the cargo fire warning system in flight.

The report revealed that due to the occurrence, Boeing took a number of steps to identify similar issues and ensure the risk of wires coming into contact with screws was further minimised.

“Despite complex systems of design and manufacturing, training and quality control, errors to occur during manufacturing that may not be apparent for some time,” the ATSB report said.

“In this case, the aircraft was manufactured four years prior to the incident.”

The report acknowledged that crew actions together with regulatory design requirements, material composition and system protections minimised the severity of damage from the short circuit.

“In response to this and four other incidents, the aircraft manufacturer utilised their system of communication to alert all operators of the issue and took actions in an effort to prevent reoccurrence,” said the report.

MTF...P2