[Peetwo]

Flight 804: Has ET struck again?

Oh no another AAI investigation falls under a potential cover-up cloud..

The Times via the Oz:

Egypt Air crash: cover-up fears as Egyptians go silent over cause

An EgyptAir plane on the tarmac at Cairo international airport. Picture: AFP.

• Dominic Kennedy
  
• The Times
  
• 9:47AM August 15, 2016
  

Investigators have come under fresh pressure to break their silence about the mysterious crash of an Airbus passenger jet in the Mediterranean as victims’ groups demanded an explanation over an alleged mechanical fault.

A lawyer for families of the victims of EgyptAir Flight 804, which plummeted into the sea killing all 66 occupants in May, said yesterday that it had experienced fire warnings before taking off from Paris to Cairo.

The automatic data system on the aircraft transmitted smoke alarms to the Egyptian maintenance base en route to Paris, but it was allowed to take off again for the night flight home, Sebastien Busy, representing 19 families, told Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper.

The Egyptians have failed to respond to requests from the French transport police, who are assisting a judicial investigation into the deaths, to disclose maintenance records, amid suspicions that information was being withheld.

Flight 804 crashed in Egyptian air space in the early hours of May 19 with no mayday signal or distress calls from the flight deck.

The Egyptian civil aviation authority issued 25 bulletins in the first two months after the Airbus 320 crashed, but has said nothing for four weeks.

“The preliminary investigation has confirmed the existence on this aircraft of technical failures which preceded the May 19 Paris-Cairo flight and EgyptAir should have been aware,” Mr Busy, a lawyer with the French National Federation of Victims of Attacks and Collective Accidents, said.

Stephane Gicquel, the federation’s head, said: “This aircraft should never have taken off again from Roissy [Paris] without a repair.”

He criticised the lack of information from the Egyptians. “It’s a total blackout. The Egyptians undertook to keep the families informed before their official communiqués.

That has not been the case.” The stonewalling is fuelling fears among relatives that there may be a cover-up of the causes of the disaster. The dead included 30 Egyptians, 15 French people, two Iraqis and a Briton.

The limited information released so far is consistent with an electrical arcing fire in the avionics bay, a risk that may be associated with maintenance problems. No evidence has been disclosed that supports terrorism or a mechanical fault as causes.

French and US investigators, who are assisting the Egyptians by providing information and data about the aircraft and its parts, are said to be exasperated by the lack of transparency in Cairo. “The expression is ‘beating your head against the wall’,” a source said.

The French air crash investigation office and the National Transportation Safety Board of the United States, where the aircraft’s engines were made, have accredited representatives to the investigation.

France has finally lost patience and gone public with its annoyance. Jean-Marc Ayrault, the French foreign minister, took the unusual step of announcing that he had reminded his Egyptian counterpart that the families of the dead were still waiting for answers.

The findings are especially important for France because Airbus, the European aircraft manufacturing consortium, is based in Toulouse. The doomed aircraft was built in 2003.

Wagdy Gerges, whose brother-in-law Medhat Misheel was killed, said: “We haven’t received the bodies to bury them and we don’t have any updates about what is happening and what is going on.” Another relative told The Times that the last message families received from EgyptAir was on July 25.

The airline said then that Egypt’s technical investigation committee “has not at this stage indicated when an interim report will be issued”. Families said they had heard nothing directly from the investigation committee since providing blood samples months ago.

The relative said: “This is taking infinitely more time, it’s so much longer than we would expect. There is a lack of transparency. It’s as if they want us to forget this ever happened.”

EgyptAir, the state-owned national flag carrier, has previously been the focus of intense international scrutiny.

When Flight 990 from Los Angeles to Cairo crashed into the Atlantic off Nantucket in October 1999, killing all 217 people on board, the American authorities suggested that the co-pilot had deliberately crashed it. The Egyptians rubbished the US findings and blamed mechanical failure. In 2011, fire broke out on an EgyptAir aircraft preparing to take off from Cairo. Prompt evacuation saved the 317 occupants.

The Egyptians have repeatedly expressed annoyance at independent media reports about the investigation, at one point telling journalists to “abide by the official news”.

EgyptAir declined to comment, saying it was in the hands of the investigations committee. The Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority said it could not comment on the investigation.

Theories Explored

Hidden fire

Automated messages, known as Acars, sent by the aircraft just before the crash indicated an electrical power fault in the cockpit windows followed by smoke in a lavatory and in the avionics bay, situated below the flight deck. Experts say that these all suggest a fire inside the bay on the right side of the aircraft.

On the cockpit voice recorder, the word “fire” is heard. The flight recorder, situated at the back of the aircraft, stopped recording at 37,000ft, when the incident happened.
No fire in an avionics bay has previously been recorded on an Airbus A320, one of the world’s most popular aircraft.

However, the Royal Aeronautical Society in 2014 published a study Smoke, Fire and Fumes in Transport Aircraft, demanding wiring improvements.

Terrorism

France and Egypt are both key targets for Islamic State, but nobody has claimed responsibility for an attack. The final seven minutes of recorded actions by the aircraft do not support the likelihood of an explosion. Radars show that the aircraft lurched 90 degrees to the left, which is highly unusual.

However, it then settled into a more normal flight path. One possible explanation for the flight data recorder ceasing to record at 37,000ft would be if the plane broke up midair because of a blast.

Lithium battery fire

Lithium batteries in mobile phones, tablets and digital cameras are a potential fire hazard because they can burst into flames. The Royal Aeronautical Society says that on a typical flight, 100 passengers could have 500 lithium batteries. In 2010 a UPS Airlines flight caught fire because of a large quantity of lithium batteries in the hold.

Sabotage

There has been speculation about a photograph posted on social media by one of Flight 804’s cabin crew before the disaster. It showed an air hostess emerging from the sea, pulling a bag, with a crashed aircraft in the background.

The Times

It is more than passing strange that what appeared to be a totally transparent AAI (as per ICAO Annex 13) investigation being conducted by the Egyptians, has suddenly diverged into the realm of cover-up and subterfuge - could it be that ET has struck again? 


MTF...P2

"could it be that ET has struck again? " or; have they hired Beaker?  Yuk, yuk, yak.

[Peetwo]

Latest on the 'still missing' IAF AN-32 -

Courtesy BBC India... :

The 'puzzling' disappearance of an Indian military plane

Soutik Biswas Delhi correspondent

• 7 hours ago
  
• From the section India
  

Image copyright Indian Air Force Image caption The Indian air force operates more than 100 Antonov-32 aircraft

On 22 July, an Indian military plane with 29 people on board, including six crew members, went missing over the Bay of Bengal.

More than three weeks and a massive search operation later, there is no trace of the plane.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar says experts he's spoken to are "puzzled by the sudden disappearance" of the plane.

So what do we know about the plane so far?

The Antonov-32 transport aircraft took off from the southern city of Chennai (Madras) at 08:30 local time (03:00 GMT), for a three-hour flight to Port Blair, in the eastern archipelago of Andaman and Nicobar.

'Just disappeared'

The plane climbed to a cruising altitude of 23,000ft (7,010m) over the sea before disappearing from air traffic control screens at approximately 09:12 local time, some 270km (167 miles) east of Chennai.

Seven to eight minutes before the aircraft vanished, the pilot said he was changing course to the right to avoid a thundershower cloud.

Records show it descended "very fast" from its cruising height and vanished from the radar. There was no distress call from the cockpit.

"It just disappeared - no SOS, no transmission at any frequency. That is the worrying part," says Mr Parrikar.

When it disappeared, the plane was on the fringes of an area of around 150-200 nautical miles where there was no radar coverage. Such "blind spots" over remote areas of land and sea are not uncommon.


Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The plane went missing over the Bay of Bengal on its way to Port Blair


The ongoing deep sea hunt for the missing plane, say officials, is possibly the biggest - and most arduous - in India's aviation history.

Air force and coast guard planes have flown more than 1,000 hours covering 360 nautical miles trying to locate debris.

Some some 30 ships - including two sophisticated ocean research vehicles loaned from India's top oceanographic institute and the Geological Survey of India - and submarines have combed more than 430 sq km in waters up to 4km deep. (This is around the same depth at which the flight data recorders from Air France Airbus plane that crashed into the Atlantic in 2009 were found after two years of search.)

'Needle in a haystack'

All they have found are some 30 floating objects - mainly deep sea detritus and nothing remotely associated with the missing plane. Two dozen electronic transmissions picked up in the area came from other sources. Satellites have drawn a blank in picking up any signals from the plane.

The missing Antonov-32 is part of the air force's 100 or so strong fleet of the Russian-made aircraft, described as the workhorse of the force. These planes were inducted into the force between 1984 and 1991. Air force officers point to the reliability of the aircraft, saying it has been landing regularly at Daulat Beg Oldi, the world's highest airstrip, located in Ladakh.

Mr Parrikar says the missing plane had been upgraded, and flown for nearly 179 hours after that. The pilot had flown more than 500 hours on this route.

The plane was equipped with an emergency locator transmitter, a portable emergency locator transmitter which pilots activate in the cockpit and personal locator beacons, that are attached to life vests and dinghies. "We have been looking from signals from all three," says an official. "But we have received nothing."

Image copyright EPA Image caption The An-32 - the "workhorse" of India's air force

But the aircraft was missing something crucial: the underwater locator beacons, or pingers, which are fitted to aviation flight recorders - cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder - and transmit signals at low-level frequencies from deep under water. They have a battery life of 30 days.

This appears to be a big chink in the armour of India's trusted transporter - none of the Antonov-32s were equipped with them. Since the plane vanished, the air force has been scrambling to put such beacons on these planes flying over the sea. Also, according to one report, the plane "reported three snags" in less than two weeks last month.

In the end, still nobody knows what happened to the plane. Did it fall out of air? Did it plunge into the sea? The minister believes there is very little possibility of sabotage.
But there's no reason to assume this will remain a mystery. The debris of a Dornier reconnaissance aircraft from the Indian Coast Guard which disappeared with two pilots and a navigator, on 8 June 2015 was recovered more than a month later after a vast search operation.

"It is like searching for a needle in a haystack. We are still hoping for a miracle," an air force official told me.

Normal aircraft tracking


Air traffic control - standard international practice is to monitor airspace using two radar systems: primary and secondary.

Primary radar -based on the earliest form of radar developed in the 1930s, detects and measures the approximate position of aircraft using reflected radio signals. It does this whether or not the subject wants to be tracked. Secondary radar, which relies on targets being equipped with a transponder, also requests additional information from the aircraft - such as its identity and altitude.

All commercial aircraft are equipped with transponders (an abbreviation of "transmitter responder"), which automatically transmit a unique four-digit code when they receive a radio signal sent by radar.

The code gives the plane's identity and radar stations go on to establish speed and direction by monitoring successive transmissions. This flight data is then relayed to air traffic controllers.

However, once an aircraft is more than 240km (150 miles) out to sea, radar coverage fades and air crew keep in touch with air traffic control and other aircraft using high-frequency radio.

P2 comment: Carol H ( @whiteswanuk ) - who has been diligently keeping us updated (via twitter) on the latest news from this extensive SAR operation - informs me that this is the first MSM article for some time that recognises that the IAF aircraft remains mysteriously missing. HERE is a link for Carol's latest update for the SAR...

From that BBC article I cannot but help see many parallels to the MH370 tragedy. Perhaps we are seeing a modern day 21st century equivalent of the Bermuda triangle in the waters off SE Asia & the Asian subcontinent?


MTF...P2

[Peetwo]

Latest on the 'still missing' IAF AN-32 -

Courtesy BBC India... :

The 'puzzling' disappearance of an Indian military plane
Image copyright EPA Image caption The An-32 - the "workhorse" of India's air force



Normal aircraft tracking


Air traffic control - standard international practice is to monitor airspace using two radar systems: primary and secondary.

Primary radar -based on the earliest form of radar developed in the 1930s, detects and measures the approximate position of aircraft using reflected radio signals. It does this whether or not the subject wants to be tracked. Secondary radar, which relies on targets being equipped with a transponder, also requests additional information from the aircraft - such as its identity and altitude.

All commercial aircraft are equipped with transponders (an abbreviation of "transmitter responder"), which automatically transmit a unique four-digit code when they receive a radio signal sent by radar.

The code gives the plane's identity and radar stations go on to establish speed and direction by monitoring successive transmissions. This flight data is then relayed to air traffic controllers.

However, once an aircraft is more than 240km (150 miles) out to sea, radar coverage fades and air crew keep in touch with air traffic control and other aircraft using high-frequency radio.

P2 comment: Carol H ( @whiteswanuk ) - who has been diligently keeping us updated (via twitter) on the latest news from this extensive SAR operation - informs me that this is the first MSM article for some time that recognises that the IAF aircraft remains mysteriously missing. HERE is a link for Carol's latest update for the SAR...

From that BBC article I cannot but help see many parallels to the MH370 tragedy. Perhaps we are seeing a modern day 21st century equivalent of the Bermuda triangle in the waters off SE Asia & the Asian subcontinent?

Update: Again brought to my attention by Carol H, apparently there has been some positive developments in recent days...

Courtesy First Post India:

Missing IAF flight AN-32 found? GSI vessel finds possible debris off Chennai coast
FP Staff Aug 22, 2016 10:18 IST


A Geological Survey of India (GSI) ship may have stumbled upon possible debris of the missing IAF flight AN-32 in deep-sea, reports said on Monday.

JUST IN | Debris of #MissingAN32 found in deep sea 200 nautical miles off Chennai. It was spotted by MV Samudra Ratnakar early morning.
- The Hindu (@the_hindu) August 22, 2016

The Hindu reported that oceanographic research vessel, RV Samudra Ratnakar, found "linear pieces over a 4,500-sq km area underwater." The RV Samudra Ratnakar was deployed to locate the missing AN-32. However, the report also added that there was no clarity if the pieces belonged to the missing aircraft. Defence authorities on Sunday said that the debris was located 160 nautical miles off Chennai coast.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, senior Coast Guard official told Deccan Herald, "We suspect that the objects might be the parts of AN-32 aircraft, which might have crashed in the sea."

Speaking to The Hindu, deputy director general of Geological Survey of India, S Raju said, "We got a report that at 14 places, linear pieces were found. We are not sure if the parts are from the aircraft. These could be rocks, plate movement, or volcanic activity, as these are at a depth of over 3,000 metres."

The ill-fated AN-32 had taken off on a routine courier flight to Port Blair from Tambaram air base near Chennai on 22 July at 8.30 am with six crew and 23 personnel, but never arrived at the destination. It was last seen on the radars at 9 am. The missing AN-32 aircraft, which had flown multiple times over the Bay of Bengal carrying military personnel and equipment, did not have an underwater locator system, making it difficult for rescuers to pinpoint the position of the plane.

In fact, none of the upgraded AN-32 aircrafts, the main workhorse of the military, has an underwater locator, unlike the modern transport planes like C130J or C17, PTI had reported.

The missing aircraft came with two Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) – a stationary ARTEX C406-1 ELT manufactured by ACR Electronics/Artex Products, the US, and a French-made portable KANNAD 406AS ELT manufactured by Orolia. In an emergency, the pilot has to activate the ELT beacon manually. The integrated ELT gets activated when the impact is about 2.3 G or 4.5 feet per second.

However, ELT would not get activated automatically since radio waves are not transmitted in the water. There is no signal from ELT under water for this reason, IAF sources said. The sources said trials were already on to procure underwater ELTs for the aircraft and, as an emergency measure, effort is to have some kind of an underwater ELT on any aircraft that flies over water. Also, the AN-32 aircraft does not have the Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast. This system relies on navigational satellites to automatically transmit an aircraft's journey in real time and it can be switched on and off based on operational needs.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had said overdue action, as per the Standard Operating Procedures, started at 12.30 hours, one hour after the scheduled arrival at Port Blair and nearly three-and-a-half hours after the plane went out of ground radar cover area. It was only at 1225 hours that Maritime Rescue and Coordination Centre, Chennai reported that an IAF AN-32 (AF-330) was not in contact. The weather at the time when the plane went missing was overcast with multi-layered clouds and embedded convection. The pilot had asked for deviation to the right to avoid a thundershower cloud before disappearing.

With inputs from agencies

MTF...P2  

[Peetwo]

Latest on the 'still missing' IAF AN-32 -

Courtesy BBC India... :

The 'puzzling' disappearance of an Indian military plane
Image copyright EPA Image caption The An-32 - the "workhorse" of India's air force

Courtesy First Post India:

Missing IAF flight AN-32 found? GSI vessel finds possible debris off Chennai coast
FP Staff Aug 22, 2016 10:18 IST

Update: Apologies to Carol H a couple of days late...

Search for missing AN-32 flight by Sagarnidhi ends
DECCAN CHRONICLE. | V P RAGHU
PublishedSep 4, 2016, 6:33 am IST
UpdatedSep 4, 2016, 6:40 am IST

Data collected by ship to be analysed.
 Sagarnidhi was the last ship remaining in the sea looking for clues. The flight went missing on July 22.

Chennai: The return of National Institute of Ocean Technology’s exploration ship Sagarnidhi back to Chennai from sea on Saturday,  virtually marked the end of 41-day-long but unsuccessful mission, ‘Operation Talaash’,  searching for clues for missing IAF flight AN 32 and 29 its passengers in Bay of Bengal.  Sagarnidhi was the last ship remaining in the sea looking for clues. The flight went missing on July 22.

“Yes, Sagarnidhi is back in Chennai. We will have to analyse the data collected by our vessel before saying anything. Sagarnidhi was the last ship engaged in search,” disclosed a NIOT official indicating that the physical search has now come to an end.

Forty-one days after IAF AN-32 went missing with 29 persons, including a woman IAF official, on board over Bay of Bengal, ‘Operation  Talaash’ has come to an end with no solid clues about the disappearance of the flight. The aircraft is believed to have crashed into the sea during a routine flight from Chennai to Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar islands.

Within hours after the aircraft went missing, the defence establishment launched a massive search operation by engaging 20 ships and four aircraft. In addition,  officials had also sought help from Russian Navy Ship Igor Belousov and Geological Survey  of India ship Samudra Ratnakar  besides NIOT’s  Sagarnidhi.

is believed that the debris of the aircraft could be somewhere on sea bed 3,000 metres deep and only hope remains now for the families of the missing defence personnel is the data captured by Sagarnidhi.


Flight and missing victims

Apart from the six member crew of the IAF, there were 11 IAF personnel, two Indian Army personnel, nine from Navy and one from Coast Guard in the flight.

Of the 29 victims, one identified as R. M. Krishnan, attached to CG, was from Chennai.
The flight took off from Tambaram at 8.30 am and was supposed to land in Port Blair by 11.30 am. Fifteen minutes after the take off, radio contact was lost and about 20 minutes later the last blip on the radar was recorded by IAF ATC.

The Russian made aircraft went missing at about 150 nautical miles from Chennai after it suddenly descended from a height of about 23,000

 
Here is hoping the Sagarnidhi sonar data does turn up something...


Once again thank you Carol...


MTF...P2

[ventus45]

Initial preliminary report on the Emirates B-777 crash.
If only Dolan's Doodling Doddler Duffers could ever be so punctual.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-uYrtk...ZKYUE/view

[Peetwo]

Initial preliminary report on the Emirates B-777 crash.
If only Dolan's Doodling Doddler Duffers could ever be so punctual.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-uYrtk...ZKYUE/view

Thanks for that "V", certainly make our mob look like rank amateurs... I've got the feeling this investigation will be a doozy and somehow I don't think we will have to wait half a decade for the final report...

Here is the WSJ summary of that prelim... : 

Emirates Airline Preliminary Crash Report Suggests Engine Power Added Too Late
Pilots appear to have made errors in trying to abort their landing in Dubai
 ENLARGE
Photo from video shows smoke rising after an Emirates flight crash landed at Dubai International Airport on Aug. 3. Photo: Associated Press

By
Nicolas Parasie in Dubai
Nicolas Parasie - The Wall Street Journal
@NicolasParasie
&
Robert Wall -The Wall Street Journal
@R_Wall

Updated Sept. 6, 2016 11:55 a.m. ET
 
Pilots of the Emirates Airline jetliner that crashed last month appear to have made errors in trying to abort their landing, the preliminary accident report released Tuesday suggests.

The pilots of Flight 521 seem to have added engine power too late in their attempt to climb after touching down too far down the runway, according to the report. While the report didn’t explicitly blame the pilots, accident investigators didn’t highlight any technical problems with the Boeing Co. 777 plane.

The jetliner was destroyed in the ensuing fire at the Dubai airport, killing one firefighter. All 300 passengers and crew on board escaped the plane that became engulfed in flames. One suffered serious injuries, others more minor ones.

The plane touched down far along the runway, triggering an automated alert to the crew of a “long landing.” Flight 521 became airborne again six seconds after the landing gear first touched down, and pilots retracted flaps and the landing gear.

The aircraft briefly climbed before beginning to descend again, according to the 28-page report published by the United Arab Emirates’ General Civil Aviation Authority.

Only then did the pilots adjust the engine’s power setting, investigators said.

“Three seconds before impact with the runway, both thrust levers were moved from the idle position to full forward,” according to the investigation.

The engines started to respond about two seconds later, but not in time to avoid the plane impacting the runway a second later. The plane’s landing gear was still retracting.

“This was followed by the impact of the engines on the runway,” the report said. One of the engines detached, sparking flames.

The firefighter was killed about nine minutes after the plane came to a standstill when the plane’s center fuel tank exploded, according to the report.

An Emirates spokesperson said the airline will continue to extend its full co-operation as investigators work towards the final report.

“Emirates is also conducting its own rigorous internal investigation to proactively review what we know about the accident, and consider measures that may enhance our operations or procedures,” the spokesperson said.

It was Emirates Airline’s first loss of an aircraft to an accident in its 31-year history. Emirates is the world’s biggest airline by international traffic and the largest operator of Boeing 777 planes.

Emirates Airline wasn’t immediately available to comment.
Related News

• Emirates Airline Plane Catches Fire After Landing at Dubai (Aug. 4, 2016)
  
• After Plane Fire, Dubai Airport Returns to Full Capacity (Aug. 4, 2016)
  

Before the attempted landing of Flight 521, the crew arriving from India’s Thiruvananthapuram airport received a warning about rapidly changing wind conditions and that two other flights had missed their approach already.

Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travelers, suspended flights immediately after the incident. Emirates chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said then the initial landing may have been aborted due to wind shear.
Both the pilot and co-pilot had more than 7,000 flying hours logged.

MTF...P2

[Peetwo]

Breaking news on Egypt Air flight 804 AAI -

Via Reuters:

TNT traces on EgyptAir plane debris split investigators

This still image taken from video posted Saturday, May 21, 2016, on the official Facebook page of the Egyptian Armed Forces spokesman shows an Egyptian dinghy collecting wreckage of EgyptAir flight 804. (AP)

Reuters, Paris Saturday, 17 September 2016

Investigators from France’s institute for criminal research found traces of the explosive material TNT last week in Cairo on debris from an EgyptAir plane that crashed in May, triggering a dispute between French and Egyptian authorities, French newspaper Le Figaro reported on Friday.

The origin of these traces remains unclear and Egyptian judicial authorities did not allow French investigators to examine the debris in detail, Le Figaro said, citing a source close to the investigation.

Egypt wishes to write a joint report with France to validate the presence of TNT on the debris. France has refused to do this because the investigators were not able to carry out an adequate inspection to determine how the traces could have got there, Le Figaro said.

A spokesman for the French national police declined to comment.

EgyptAir flight MS804, an Airbus A320, plunged into the eastern Mediterranean en route from Paris to Cairo on May 19. All 66 people on board were killed, including 15 French passengers. The cause of the crash remains unknown.

Audio from the flight recorder of the crashed aircraft mentions a fire on board the plane in its final moments, the investigation committee said in July.

Earlier analysis of the plane’s flight data recorder showed there had been smoke in the lavatory and avionics bay, while recovered wreckage from the jet’s front section showed signs of high temperature damage and soot.


Last Update: Saturday, 17 September 2016 KSA 00:26 - GMT 21:26

MTF...P2

[Peetwo]

ICAO: Nepalese State AAI no improvement in 3 years.

According to ICAO Nepal is literally the most dangerous place to fly and since the last 2013 ICAO audit the Nepalese AAI (Annex 13) standards are not improving...

Nepal’s aviation on a wing and a prayer
ICAO says no improvement in air accident investigation in the past three years
Published: September 08, 2016 6:01 am
Rajan Pokhrel


Kathmandu, September 7
Nepal’s plan to get its aviation sector removed early from the global shame list received another setback after the United Nations aviation agency found no change in the country’s three-year-old status as far as air accident investigation is concerned.

International Civil Aviation Organisation has red-flagged country’s aviation sector in 2013, citing non-compliance of ICAO protocols in eight critical elements, including the aircraft accident investigation.

In its updated safety audit report, the status of effective implementation of ICAO protocols stands at a pathetic 20 per cent as compared to the global average of 54 per cent.

The 2013 audit also found the implementation at the same level to designate Nepal’s aviation with significant safety concerns, leading to the European Union’s blacklisting of Nepali airlines in 2014.

The latest ICAO’s finding clearly shows that the senior officials at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, which is solely responsible for aircraft accident investigation in Nepal, have been taking country’s civil aviation for a ride, while globe-trotting with no accompanying obligations or guilt, Ashok Chandra Pokharel, former board director at Nepal Airlines, said.

He added that at least four accidents involving commercial air transport that have occurred this year, resulting in deaths of five flight crew members and 25 passengers, were a grim reminder that serious deficiencies continue to stalk Nepali aviation.

“Besides, the repetitive nature of the accidents raises troubling questions about the recommendation made for past accidents and their state of compliance.”

He said investigations had become a farce and officials headed to foreign shores at government expenses with flight recorders for analysis.

Interestingly, Joint Secretary Suresh Acharya, who heads the aviation accident investigation wing of MoCTCA, desisted from sharing country’s expertise at the ICAO’s Fourth Meeting of the Asia Pacific Accident Investigation Group held in Tokyo earlier this week.

“The meeting discussed papers on accident investigation by Australia, Singapore and even Bangladesh –- countries that have not witnessed a fatal air crash for many years — but Nepal chose not to put up even an information paper at the conference,” a member of the delegation revealed.

“This was simply because all investigations are farcical and the reports lack substance and credibility even in Nepal,” he added.

According to him, the key takeaway from the Tokyo meeting was the independence of the investigation process. He added that to ensure total objectivity and impartiality, ICAO had stipulated that the investigation authority should not report to the same minister responsible for the regulation and/or safety oversight of civil aviation, a practice that is not being followed by Nepal.

“The ministry oversees Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, the minister chairs the CAAN Board and yet constitutes the accident investigation commission that reports to him — a clear case of conflict of interest,” a senior ministry official admitted.

MoCTCA Secretary Prem Kumar Rai, however, claimed that the ministry was always ready to perform as per ICAO’s stipulations on accident investigation.

“CAAN must suggest to the ministry its future course of action to address this critical issue,” he added.

Now here is a 'heads up' for Chester, Murky & his minions:

"..According to him, the key takeaway from the Tokyo meeting was the independence of the investigation process. He added that to ensure total objectivity and impartiality, ICAO had stipulated that the investigation authority should not report to the same minister responsible for the regulation and/or safety oversight of civil aviation, a practice that is not being followed by Nepal..."

Such a damning indictment of the Nepalese AAI standards compared to the acceptable standards, as outlined in ICAO Annex 13, got me thinking on how bad their investigations and final reports could possibly be compared to our much internationally maligned ATSB..

So I started by visiting the Nepalese Civil Aviation AAI report page - see HERE. But then two days I came across an article reporting on a fatal accident of a P750 XL at Chilkhaya in Kalicot Nepal, unfortunately the report is yet to be released on the Ministry of Civil Aviation website (link above).

Therefore I am not sure of the veracity of the reported details but if correct it took the authorities responsible for AAI in Nepal 7 months to complete the investigation and publish the final report.

Given the ICAO assessment it could be the report itself is substandard; or not meeting the ICAO Annex 13 standards?? However from what was reported in the article the AAI commission members assigned to investigate this accident seem to have got a handle on the whole causal chain, including a finding of no records for the preservation of the engine between 2012 to 2015 and while under ownership of Australian company Tasman Aviation Enterprises of Australia...

Air Kasthamandap crash caused by engine failure: Probe report
- SANGAM PRASAIN, Kathmandu




Sep 18, 2016

The crash of an Air Kasthamandap plane at Chilkhaya in Kalikot last February was caused by engine failure, a probe report has revealed. Both pilots were killed while the nine passengers on the charter flight survived.

According to the findings, the crew tried to force land the aircraft on a barley field after losing power, and the right landing gear struck a pile of firewood, causing it to pitch forward onto its nose. The cockpit was destroyed by the impact.

Captain Dinesh Neupane died on the spot while Copilot Santosh Rana died one and a half hours later. There were nine passengers on board including an infant. The single-engine P750 XL, manufactured by Pacific Aerospace of New Zealand, was on its way to Jumla from Nepalgunj.

The investigation report submitted to Tourism Minister Jeevan Bahadur Shahi on Sunday concluded that the crash happened because the engine lost useful power due to deterioration of one of the six bearings in the engine.

“The breakdown of surface layers on the number one bearing resulted in axial movement of the compressor into gross mechanical damage,” said Ramesh Kumar Singh, a senior engineer of Goma Air and a member of the government’s fact-finding commission.

“The engine had a defect in its rolling-element bearing. The bearing assembly was improper or faulty,” he said, presenting the details of the mechanical aspect of the crashed aircraft.

The engine of the 10-seater aircraft was manufactured in 1991. Initially, it was used on a multi-engine aircraft of Fiji Airways. Air Kasthamandap had leased the engine in December 2015, according to the report.

The engine had been overhauled at Airforce Turbine Service in the US in 2012. When Air Kasthamandap leased the engine from Tasman Aviation Enterprises of Australia, it was disassembled appropriately for a single-engine plane. “However, the engine’s bearing assembly was improper,” said Singh.

“There was a foreign object or debris between the bearing and the body of the engine that was regularly building up friction, and ultimately led to the breakdown of the layers of the bearing,” he said. “There are no records about how the engine was preserved between 2012 and 2015.”

The crew had tried several times to restart the engine after it stopped abruptly when the aircraft was at a height of 11,000 feet and at a distance of 75 km north of Nepalgunj airport.

The aircraft with the registration number 9N-AJB had taken off from Nepalgunj at 12:16 pm, the third flight for the crew on that day. The aircraft had last established contact with Nepalgunj airport at 12:33 pm.

The authorities concerned were informed about the crash at 12:50 pm. However, a rescue operation was mounted a full four hours after the accident.

The report said that engine failure was not the sole reason behind the crash. “Although single-engine aircraft can glide a fair distance after losing power to execute a safe force landing, the route lacks proper landing spots,” said Hari Bahadur Khadka, member-secretary of the commission.

The crew had flown for nearly 15 km searching for a suitable landing spot after the engine shut down. “There should be a force landing spot for every three minutes of flying distance, but no such spots were designated,” said Khadka, adding that the civil aviation regulator had also not followed up on this issue.  

The report said that the accident "could also be the result of the financial health of the airline”. Khadka said, “Due to the deteriorating financial condition of the company, it was unable to conduct proper monitoring of the operation. It had not been able to retain technical manpower due to financial stress.”

Meanwhile, the investigation committee has concluded that the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal has not been able to oversee the use of different types of aircraft due to capacity constraints. This has affected efficient monitoring of the Nepali skies, it added.

Published: 18-09-2016 18:45

Here is hoping when this report is finally published we may see that the worm has turned and the quality of Nepalese AAI has indeed improved.

However the warning bells for our mob should be ringing loud and long. For it is obvious that ICAO now place significant importance on the effective functioning of a State Annex 13 defined fully independent Aviation Accident Investigator...


MTF...P2

[Gobbledock]

One could be mistaken and swear that Dolan has a twin who is in charge at the  Nepalese investigative authority??

And what about this shit;

"Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation"

Not even Aleck would come up with that shit! 'Culture', plus 'tourism' in the same sentence as civil aviation!! Ha. Might work there, but not here because our Alphabet Soup bureaucracies have a poor culture and only destroy tourism!

And of course ICAO, another weak body, talk tough but are spineless. If they were serious they would poke around in our backyard and see what pony pooh has been going on. The symbiotic relationship between CAsA and the ATsB, out of line with Annexe 13, and where everyone reports to the same dipshit Minister flies in the face of what ICAO is 'promulgating', does it not? But hey, what is ICAO going to do? Fly down under and masturbate the Minister with a wet lettuce leaf and fist full of baby oil? Oh dear, how scary. Shudder shudder.

Nope, the depth and breadth of aviation chickenshit seems to have no boundaries.
As Dick smith said; get out while you can.

TICK TOCK

[Kharon]

A good MH 17 report – HERE - .  What a tragedy, what a mess; what an investigation. Hard to know what to make of this event, but at least the effort to sort it out seems genuine and is on going.  Well done all involved.

[Peetwo]

A good MH 17 report – HERE - .  What a tragedy, what a mess; what an investigation. Hard to know what to make of this event, but at least the effort to sort it out seems genuine and is on going.  Well done all involved.

Also via Flight Global:

MH17: Joint investigation pinpoints firing site of missile
28 September, 2016
BY: David Kaminski-Morrow
London

Investigators have concluded that a surface-to-air missile that brought down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was fired from eastern Ukrainian territory held by rebels.

The destruction of the Boeing 777-200ER on 17 July 2014 had previously been attributed to the launch of a Buk weapon following an inquiry by the Dutch Safety Board.

But while the air accident investigation is complete, parallel criminal inquiries are still progressing.

The five-nation joint investigation team has concluded that the launch site for the missile was an area of farmland near the village of Pervomaiskiy, some 10km east of Torez and 20km from the 777 crash site.

“We have no doubt whatsoever that conclusions we’re presenting today is accurate,” said the team in a 28 September briefing.

Wire-tapped conversations from 16 July 2014 revealed discussions mentioning an urgent need for a Buk weapon to achieve objectives in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, and also show that the Buk was delivered.

The inquiry has reconstructed most of the route taken by the mobile launcher as it was transported from Russia into Ukraine, travelling through Yenakijeve, Donetsk, Torez and Snizhne before reaching its destination.

Evidence for the weapon’s route has been derived from social media, analysis of intercepted telephone traffic between officers and commanders, the range and locations of telephone masts, social media images and accounts from numerous witnesses.

The area of farmland near Pervomaiskiy is “without any doubt” the site of the launch, says the investigation team.

It points out that it has accumulated several images of the missile’s smoke trail – and examined them for authenticity, discounting the possibility of doctoring or misinterpretation – and heard witness accounts of sounds and sights which back up the missile-launch scenario.

The inquiry also found evidence of an extensively-scorched area of a field, consistent with the launch location, which had subsequently been ploughed to prevent a fire spreading.
Investigators also tracked the exit of the Buk launch vehicle, stating that it left Ukraine via Luhansk.

The briefing was contained to the launch-site analysis and did not expand on individual suspects or the circumstances leading to the attack on MH17.

Investigators looked into an alternative possible launch site, identified by the Russian defence ministry as Ukrainian-controlled territory. But analysis discounted this location as the launch site and, besides, the investigation found the territory was not being held by Ukraine but by pro-Russian fighters.

The inquiry points out that the Pervomaiskiy site is consistent with the suspected launch-site region determined during the Dutch Safety Board’s probe.

Dutch chief prosecutor Fred Westerbeke, speaking during the briefing, stated that the theory of an air-to-air attack on MH17 had been “excluded”.

“If MH17 had been shot down by another aircraft, this would have been visible on radar images,” he says. Radar data was provided by both Ukraine and Russia, he adds, although additional recent data from Russia has yet to be received.

Radar evidence has been supplemented by data from a mobile radar, albeit with limited range, that was undergoing software tests in Ukraine at the time. Westerbeke adds that air traffic control audio recordings have also contributed to development of a “sufficiently comprehensive picture” of the airspace situation, and that the inquiry has concluded that “no other aircraft” was flying in the vicinity of MH17.

And today..

MH17: Flight Safety Foundation backs independent probe

29 September, 2016
| BY: David Kaminski-Morrow
| London


Representatives of the US-based Flight Safety Foundation are urging the creation of an independent international panel to investigate the attack on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

The foundation argues that such a move would address Russian claims of unfair bias by the five-nation joint investigation team probing the Boeing 777’s destruction.

These five nations – the Netherlands, Ukraine, Malaysia, Australia and Belgium – have been undertaking a criminal and judicial inquiry into the July 2014 crash in Ukraine.

The inquiry believes it has proven that the missile was carried on a transporter brought into Ukraine from Russia and fired from pro-Russian rebel-held territory, and detailed its case on 28 September.

But Russian officials claim the inquiry is politically motivated, highlighting that Ukraine was involved in the probe while Russia was effectively excluded.

The Flight Safety Foundation says that, while it normally opposes the criminalisation of “honest mistakes” in aviation, the circumstances surrounding the loss of MH17 are pointing to a “premeditated act”.

“We urge all states to co-operate fully in this investigation,” says its chief, Jon Beatty, adding that a United Nations Security Council resolution to convene an independent panel would address Russian claims of bias and assist with obtaining further evidence relating to the probe.

MTF...P2

[Gobbledock]

The area in question where this abhorrent crime was committed was a hotbed of activity. There were already plenty of 'eyes in the skies', and plenty of satellite and drone activity as well as ongoing intelligence. Within minutes of the aircraft being destroyed the analysts were on the job pulling footage, analysing rocket heat signatures, smoke trails and spirals, and satellite data. We didnt need to wait two years for this report.

Several points out of the MH17 investigation that I see are;

1. No amount of probing, investigating or discussions about this barbaric act will bring the dead loves back. Why make us wait 2 years?

2. International world powers knew within hours what had happened, who did it, and how they did it. Why make us wait 2 years?

3. Nobody will dare speak out against the Russians and actually take action against them for this crime. There will be lots of 'tough talk' but it's all part of the charade. Why continue with this limp wristed farce?

Why has this world descended into a terrorist tolerant spineless society who is too preoccupied in political correctness and capitulating to murderers, thugs, terrorists, and scum that should be snuffed out by repetitive drone strikes with high yield payloads??

[Peetwo]

The area in question where this abhorrent crime was committed was a hotbed of activity. There were already plenty of 'eyes in the skies', and plenty of satellite and drone activity as well as ongoing intelligence. Within minutes of the aircraft being destroyed the analysts were on the job pulling footage, analysing rocket heat signatures, smoke trails and spirals, and satellite data. We didnt need to wait two years for this report.

Several points out of the MH17 investigation that I see are;

1. No amount of probing, investigating or discussions about this barbaric act will bring the dead loves back. Why make us wait 2 years?

2. International world powers knew within hours what had happened, who did it, and how they did it. Why make us wait 2 years?

3. Nobody will dare speak out against the Russians and actually take action against them for this crime. There will be lots of 'tough talk' but it's all part of the charade. Why continue with this limp wristed farce?

Why has this world descended into a terrorist tolerant spineless society who is too preoccupied in political correctness and capitulating to murderers, thugs, terrorists, and scum that should be snuffed out by repetitive drone strikes with high yield payloads??

Very well said Gobbles...

Via the Oz today somewhat ironically shows that for all his faults, failings & histrionics, including threatening to shirt front Putin, former PM Tony Abbott has stood steadfast to the belief that Putin should be held accountable for the downing of MH17:

MH17: Tony Abbott urges Vladimir Putin to come clean

• The Australian
  
• 12:00AM September 30, 2016
  

[/url]
[url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/Jacquelin+Magnay]
Jacquelin Magnay
Foreign correspondent
Europe
@jacquelinmagnay
[img=0x0]http://pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/author/16d86289419ba47b6c80c0175034a333/?esi=true&t_product=the-australian&t_template=s3/austemp-article_common/vertical/author/widget&td_bio=false[/img]


Brendan Nicholson
Defence Editor
Canberra

[img=0x0]http://pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/author/9e8d7209e1c2ac7ea9fc05a8a39849e0/?esi=true&t_product=the-australian&t_template=s3/austemp-article_common/vertical/author/widget&td_bio=false[/img]
International investigators have called for information on two Russian speakers known as “Orion” and “Delfin” and offered possible immunity for insiders terrified of Russian repercussions after the official finding that it was a Russian Buk missile that destroyed Malaysia Airlines MH17.

The public hunt for those ­involved in the murderous crime comes as Tony Abbott urged Vladimir Putin to “stop the KGB-style trickery” and own up to the destruction of MH17.
The former prime minister, who once threatened to “shirt front” the Russian leader over the downing of the passenger jet, said that even if MH17 was shot down unintentionally, the international criminal investigation proved that Russians from Mr Putin down acted with criminal recklessness in allowing that to happen.

“This painstaking, thoroughgoing forensic investigation confirms what we thought within a couple of days of the atrocity, namely that a missile battery came from Russia, went into rebel-held eastern Ukraine, fired, downed the jet and once they realised what they’d done they went back into Russia,” Mr Abbott said.

“Beyond any doubt Russia has to be held responsible for this.”

Mr Abbott said Russian military missile batteries did not just casually wander across a border, casually fire and then casually go back into Russia without authorisation.
“He (Putin) did authorise the participation of Russian military units in this conflict and one of his units has now been found, beyond any reasonable doubt, to have committed this terrible crime.”
Computerised video shows the missile transporter.

The countries involved in the joint criminal investigation — Australia, Malaysia, Ukraine, Belgium and The Netherlands — say they have identified 100 people of interest linked to the crash or ­involved in the transport of the Buk into rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine which resulted in the death of 298 people, including 38 Australian citizens and residents on July 17, 2014.

For the first time the investigation has revealed the names of two witnesses they are seeking. Phone calls of Orion and Delfin were intercepted by Ukrainian intelligence and played to the families of the victims on Wednesday, one revealing the urgent need for a Buk and another showing that the Buk was delivered.

Orion is believed to be Andrey Ivanovich and Delfin is believed to be Nikolay Fiodorovich, the Dutch police said last night, as they called for more information on the pair.

“Do you recognise the voice of ‘Orion’ and/or ‘Delfin’, do you know their full names, their whereabouts, or do you have any information concerning these people or their connection to the Buk that allegedly shot down MH17?” the appeal says, adding that the investigators pay serious attention to the security of witnesses.

“If you are concerned about your safety, various protective measures can be taken,’’ they said.

The five countries have ­extended their commitment to 2018 to unearth more evidence to prosecute those responsible. Dutch chief prosecutor Fred Westerbeke said the appeal to ­insiders was critical to determine the role different people played. The investigation is trying to narrow down if the crew decided to fire the Buk themselves or if they followed orders.

“This is important when determining the offences committed by the alleged perpetrators,” Mr Westerbeke said.

Russia has rejected the international investigation findings and has threatened to use its veto to prevent a case being brought before the UN Security Council tribunal

   
MTF...P2

[Peetwo]

The area in question where this abhorrent crime was committed was a hotbed of activity. There were already plenty of 'eyes in the skies', and plenty of satellite and drone activity as well as ongoing intelligence. Within minutes of the aircraft being destroyed the analysts were on the job pulling footage, analysing rocket heat signatures, smoke trails and spirals, and satellite data. We didnt need to wait two years for this report.

Several points out of the MH17 investigation that I see are;

1. No amount of probing, investigating or discussions about this barbaric act will bring the dead loves back. Why make us wait 2 years?

2. International world powers knew within hours what had happened, who did it, and how they did it. Why make us wait 2 years?

3. Nobody will dare speak out against the Russians and actually take action against them for this crime. There will be lots of 'tough talk' but it's all part of the charade. Why continue with this limp wristed farce?

Why has this world descended into a terrorist tolerant spineless society who is too preoccupied in political correctness and capitulating to murderers, thugs, terrorists, and scum that should be snuffed out by repetitive drone strikes with high yield payloads??

Very well said Gobbles...

Via the Oz today somewhat ironically shows that for all his faults, failings & histrionics, including threatening to shirt front Putin, former PM Tony Abbott has stood steadfast to the belief that Putin should be held accountable for the downing of MH17:

MH17: Tony Abbott urges Vladimir Putin to come clean

Latest Update: Via the Oz

‘Lockerbie-style tribunal’ to deliver MH17 justice




Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said yesterday it was vital to identify the individuals responsible and pursue prosecutions against them. Picture: Julie Kiriacoudis

• Brendan Nicholson, Joe Kelly
  
• The Australian
  
• 12:00AM October 3, 2016
  
• @joekellyoz
  [img=0x0]http://pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/author/c1e593b57554afc1c3bc4d1f516c297b/?esi=true&t_product=the-australian&t_template=s3/austemp-article_common/vertical/author/widget&td_bio=false[/img]
  

Justice for the 298 passengers and crew killed by the Russian missile that destroyed Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 could be delivered by a Lockerbie-style tribunal or through a criminal prosecution launched in The Netherlands.

A multinational Joint Investigation Team confirmed last week that the airliner, carrying 298 ­people including 38 Australian residents, was hit by a missile brought from Russia into an area of the eastern Ukraine held by pro-Moscow rebels.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said yesterday it was vital to identify the individuals responsible and pursue prosecutions against them. Ms Bishop also warned that “all out war” would erupt between the US and Russia in Syria if the Americans bombed Assad government forces.

According to the World Health Organisation, attacks by Russian and Assad forces on rebel-held areas of the Syrian city of Aleppo over the past week killed 338 people, more than 100 of them children.

Targets reportedly included two large hospitals hit by barrel bombs — drums of explosives pushed out of helicopters.

Labor’s foreign affairs spokeswoman, Penny Wong, offered Ms Bishop the opposition’s strong support for efforts to prosecute those responsible for the downing of MH17. Ms Bishop told the ABC’s Insiders program it was critical to identify those responsible within the chain of command in the Russian military as well as those involved in the operation of the missile.

“I expect that, by the end of the year, maybe earlier next year, the list of those we believe should be held accountable will be confirmed and then there must be a prosecution,” Ms Bishop said.

She urged Russia to ensure those responsible were held to ­account but said Moscow was likely to veto attempts to gain United Nations Security Council approval for prosecutions.

An option was a Lockerbie-style prosecution by an international tribunal along the lines of that which followed the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Scotland on December 21, 1988, she said. Another was for domestic prosecutions in a country such as The Netherlands where most of the MH17 victims lived. That could succeed as long as prosecutors had powers of extradition and it would cover the interests of all 298 victims, Ms Bishop said.

Asked what the consequences would be if the US began bombing Assad government forces in Syria, Ms Bishop responded: “That would be an all-out war. We are currently seeing a proxy war ­between Russia and the US and other players in this disaster but I urge all of the parties to continue to talk.”

Ms Bishop said she did not believe there would be a military solution but an option would be an arms embargo with both sides withdrawing military support from the regime and from the ­opposition groups to force them to the negotiating table.

She said she had witnessed two meetings between Russian ­Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry and it was clear all trust ­between the two nations had broken down.

“Neither side trusts the other side and while ever the Assad ­regime, backed by Russia and Iran, believes that it can win militarily over the opposition groups backed by the US and the Gulf countries, the killing and the war will continue,” Ms Bishop said.

“Likewise, the opposition groups believe that they can defeat the Assad regime militarily.”

MTF...P2

[Peetwo]

Update: Missing IAF AN32

Unfortunately it would that at this stage the search for the tragically missing AN32 has been indefinitely suspended...   

Via Carol H on twitter:

#AN32 #AN32Missing If true this is terrible news for NOK. Not only NO trackers fitted but ROV is Mickey Mouse job.. http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2016/oct/03/underwater-search-operation-for-missing-iaf-an-32-aircraft-terminated-1524725.html …

Underwater search operation for missing IAF AN-32 aircraft terminated
By C Shivakumar  |  Express News Service  |   Published: 03rd October 2016 09:27 PM  |  
Last Updated: 03rd October 2016 09:27 PM  |   A+A A-   |  


A file photo for representational purpose only.

CHENNAI: The underwater search operation of Indian Air Force transport aircraft AN-32, that went missing along with 29 crew on July 22, has been terminated.
Official sources told Express that the underwater search by National Institute of Ocean Technology was suspended after the remotely operated Underwater vehicle, which has taken a long break for more
than two years suffered technical glitches.
“The ROV was used to conduct searches in three possible underwater locations after Geological Survey of India vessel Samudra Ratnakar zeroed in on 15 possible locations after conducting survey using
multi-beam echo sounder and side scan sonar,” said sources.
“The ROV did dip twice but during the third dip it developed tethering problems as such we could not maneuver it properly,” said sources.
The issue with ROV was that it is not an industrial version which could be used for commercial purpose. It is basically for research and development purpose. It also had tethering issues.
“Even we did not have required spares for the ROV. The other reasons for terminating the underwater search operations was due to rough weather as North east monsoon has set it besides Sagarnidhi has been on sea for a long time,” the sources said.
Sources said that Sagarnidhi would be busy with scientific schedules and would go back for search operations once the ROV gets ready.
However, no details were given on when the search operation would resume.

---

[/url][url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/AN32?src=hash]#AN32 @PAIN_NET1 A sad sight, all search vessels in Chennai, search terminated. No trackers & ROV a sad travesty for NOK, not fit for job

---

UDB??

As usual Carol thank you and please keep us informed...MTF P2

[Peetwo]

Etihad B777 occurrence Abu Dhabi 27 September 2016.

Via the Oz:

Inside an emergency landing
12:00amMITCHELL BINGEMANN, Paul Cleary

Dust flying through the cabin, stewardesses crying: passengers of a mid-air emergency recount their stories | VIDEO

A piece of tyre tread, ripped from the front wheel of an Etihad Airways-operated Boeing 777 and sucked into the plane’s left engine, was the cause of an emergency landing in Abu Dhabi last week.

The three-year-old Boeing 777 carrying 329 passengers — including 215 Australians — was on its way to Sydney on September 27 when a large bang heard throughout the plane signalled the catastrophic shutdown of the engine shortly after takeoff.

“During the takeoff roll as the aircraft rotated from the runway, the pilots heard a fairly loud banging noise and felt vibrations,” Etihad Airways chief operations officer Richard Hill told The Australian.

“One of the nose wheels had lost its outer tread. That hit the underside of the aircraft fuselage, causing some skin damage and it appears that part of the tread was ingested by the left engine which caused damage to the fan blade and some of the inner core of the engine as well.”

Mr Hill said incidents of tread separating from nose wheel tyres was rare and Etihad investigators did not yet know why it occurred.

“To my knowledge it’s the first time ever that we have had a nose wheel separation on takeoff,” he said.

“I couldn’t tell you what caused it but that’s what the investigators are looking at including the tyre manufacturers, the regulator and of course Boeing and (engine maker) GE because they may have some responsibility too.”

An official investigation being undertaken by the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority is trying to determine how and why the incident happened.

The plane, close to its maximum weight with a full tank of jet fuel for its 14-hour flight, circled the Emirati capital for about 30 minutes before making its emergency landing.
“This is a scenario that the pilots and crew train for every six months in the simulator,” Mr Hill said.

“The pilots followed the procedure, they shut down the engine and climbed in altitude. They then evaluated the information they had and then on a single engine made an immediate return and landing.”

As the plane was above the normal maximum landing weight it took longer to decelerate when it touched down. The added weight resulted in the tyres deflating.

“There is a huge build-up of heat in the brake assembly which is then transferred into the tyres. But aircraft tyres are designed ... with plugs in the tyres that melt and deflate to avoid them from exploding,” Mr Hill said.

Passengers on board the flight have described their fear as the incident unfolded, with one passenger saying the impact of the shutdown was so great that “dust flew out from every hole above us”.

Sydney student Emily Waterson, who was returning from a gap year in the US, said one flight attendant screamed and cried uncontrollably.

“The stewardess in front of me was the most distressed. She was freaking out and kept asking if I could see fire in the engine,” Ms Waterson said.


A passenger holds on during the emergency landing.

Another passenger claimed the flight attendants made the situation worse.

“Two of them were crying. All of them did absolutely nothing to help,” he said.

But passenger Sheila Lynch from Canberra said staff in the business class cabin acted calmly and professionally.

“The people in our cabin, and that of those immediately surrounding it remained quiet, decidedly strained, but quiet,” she said.

Ms Lynch said the call to “brace” rolled from one cabin to the next, creating a “continuous wave” of the loud exclamation.

“Personally I found this helped focus me into doing just that, though others later stated they found this frightening,” she said.

The Australian has obtained dramatic video taken inside the cabin which shows passengers bracing for a crash landing. The footage was obtained by a passenger who put the camera in his top after being told not to take pictures. After landing, airport security staff added to the stress by forcing passengers to delete photos of the incident.

“A soldier spotted me taking a photo and was yelling at me. He came over and made me delete the photos,” Ms Waterson said.

“One of the cops told me not to take pictures, so I just switched to video and put in my pocket with the lens out,” another passenger said. Mr Hill said Etihad had not gathered any evidence that suggested the crew acted unprofessionally during the emergency.

“From the debriefs we have done there is no evidence that the crew did anything other than act in a calm and professional manner in the way they have been trained,” he said.

“That was corroborated for me by two independent passengers on the flight who told me the crew acted calm and professionally.”

MTF...P2

[P7_TOM]

Metroliner fatal: Malta.

There are a fair few photographs and some post event video floating about on the net.

Those of us who know and love the Metro will wait for the report and not mention training techniques or speculate on any of the many things which could have led to this event. With facts in hand – we shall discuss the event and the Metro in detail.

[Gobbledock]

Tom, agree entirely mate.
Sad day with the loss of 5 lives. Many a fine pilot cut their teeth on the flying pencil.

Good timing that the footage was captured, it will definitely assist in the investigation. The downside is that we witness the final seconds of the crews lives.

R.I.P friends

[Peetwo]

AIOS - & the 21st Century??


The (other) Big "V" said.. :

My dear Gobbles:

The problem, simply put, is one of discombobulation.



In a crisis, the respones of modern systems, the changing displays, the cavalcade of warnings, and the lack of "familiar cues", completely discombobulate the crews.

The fact is, regardless of the howls of protest from the techno-nerds that design them, and those who love them "on paper" when in their arm chairs, in the "real world" the systems are actually discombobulating, ( ie, they throw the crew into a state of mental uncertainty ) and as a result, in a crisis situation, the crews quickly become completely discombobulated.

The result, is needless disaster, after needless disaster.

The "industry" will however, never admit to this truth.  

The industry has "acquired institutionalised ostrichitis syndrome" (AIOS).





So, stand by for regular repeats of AF-447 and QZ8501.


Clues:
confusion, befuddlement, bewilderment, puzzlement, perplexity, disconcertment, discomposure, daze, fog, muddle, etc ........

The classic - but not isolated - example of discombobulation/AIOS (Aussie style ) is of course the PelAir investigation, & now re-investigation: 

Example references: PelAir MK-I (& probably MK-II ) - Beyond Reason - & the pale?? + O&O thread 

However while all this AIOS is going on ( ), the rest of the aviation safety world is struggling to get ahead of the game with the implications of the findings of repeat tragic accidents like QZ8501, Colgan etc.  

The following is an excellent (TY 4 link Tinkicker ) overview article of QZ8501, courtesy Aviation Week:

AirAsia Crash: Are Regulators Moving Too Slowly On Upset Recovery?

Findings in the Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 crash highlight lessons learned—but not implemented—from high-profile crashes in 2009
Dec 7, 2015 John Croft | Aviation Week & Space Technology

[/url]Indonesia is calling for the U.S., Europe and its own regulators to accelerate mandatory upset-recovery training for airline pilots in the wake of the Indonesia [url=http://awin.aviationweek.com/OrganizationProfiles.aspx?orgId=117595]AirAsia Airbus A320-200 crash in December 2014. The accident has key similarities to the 2009 Air France Flight 447 and Colgan Air crashes in which pilots, for a variety of reasons, failed to properly respond to aerodynamic stalls and upsets, resulting in rapid, largely uncontrolled descents into terrain or water...



Flight simulators will be the tool of choice to combat loss-of-control accidents as upset-recovery training becomes routine. Credit: NASA

 

A recent addition to AIOS & the 21st century: Via the NZ Herald...

Grant Bradley


Pilots risk being seduced by technology - Emirates boss
2:00 PM Saturday Oct 22, 2016

An Asiana Airlines aircraft crashed after touching down short of San Francisco Airport in 2013.

The head of one of the world's biggest airlines is worried pilots risk being seduced by technology and lose their flying skills as aircraft get more advanced.

Emirates president Sir Tim Clark said while aircraft can theoretically be flown and landed by computers, pilots still needed hands-on training to deal with a range of scenarios.

''I am very concerned about the loss of airmanship skills and I drive it home in Emirates in a very big way so I've increased the training that they do,'' he told the Herald

''Essentially they're good people, they know how to do it but if you seduce them with these unbelievable technological platforms they think they don't have to do much.''

Like other airlines around the world, Emirates has stepped up hands-on training.

''There's an extra day twice a year for manual handling to deal with high level upsets, low speed approaches and departures with difficult situations to try and hone the skills,'' he said.

While flying is getting safer statistically, airlines weren't taking their eye off the ball.
''That would be folly.''

Pilots needed to know how to handle an aircraft in real distress such as the Qantas A380 crippled by an engine explosion shortly after takeoff from Singapore in 2010. It was saved because of the skill of an experienced crew.

''That was seat-of-the-pants airmanship kicking in.''

"..[Pilots] know how to do it but if you seduce them with these unbelievable technological platforms they think they don't have to do much.."

Sir Tim Clark, president of Emirates

In August, an Emirates Boeing 777 crashed as it tried to abort a landing in high winds at Dubai Airport and how the crew responded to the plane's automatic systems will be part of the investigation.

The issue of over-reliance on automation was highlighted early this year by the US Department of Transportation. It criticised the Federal Aviation Administration for not having in place processes to assess whether airline pilots adequately monitor automated systems on the flight deck or maintain their manual flying skills.

The department's Inspector General noted that several accidents, including the 2013 crash of an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 on landing at San Francisco Airport, "have shown that pilots who typically fly with automation can make errors when confronted with an unexpected event or transitioning to manual flying."

New rules in New Zealand

In this country the Civil Aviation Authority assesses airline operator policies, procedures, and training to ensure the appropriate use of automation in flight operations and the regular maintenance of manual flight skills.

A new rule was introduced this year which requires operators to implement a Safety Management System that includes new requirements for operators to identify safety hazards, manage associated safety risks, and to monitor safety performance.

The authority's deputy director, Air Transport and Airworthiness, Mark Hughes, said the authority considered flight path management and the use of automation to be critical to aviation safety.

He said New Zealand airlines already had programmes in place to ensure automation was used appropriately and that pilots retain manual handling skills.

''These were being continually improved in response to safety data and risk management.''

Rules have also been changed in New Zealand in line with international practice to give the non-flying pilot a monitoring role rather than being passive on the flight deck.

New Zealand Air Line Pilots Association president Tim Robinson said the 2009 crash of an Air France plane off Brazil - where the crew's response to an equipment glitch proved tragic - was a precursor for a shake up.

''It was a wake up call for airlines globally to ask whether their jet pilots in this highly automated world are maintaining their manual flying skills.''

Jet aircraft were typically on autopilot for all but takeoff and landing and they had the ability to land themselves in thick fog if there was not too much wind.

He said the association was satisfied with the training pilots were getting in New Zealand.
- NZ Herald

Bloody Kiwis kicking our ass in the rugby and now in addressing real world aviation safety issues - FDS...
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[Peetwo]

Update: Not good news for NOK of missing IAF AN-32

Via Carol, courtesy The Hindu... :

Missing IAF plane remains elusive

V. Geetanath

: There is more agony in store for family members of the missing 29 personnel aboard the Indian Air Force (IAF) AN-32 plane that went missing on the weekly flight from Chennai to Port Blair, with the National Institute of Ocean Technology’s special submersible Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) giving up its search.

After a month and a half of scouring through the Bay of Bengal sea bed for the plausible remains of the IAF plane for up to a depth of up to 3,300 metres, about 116 nautical miles off the Chennai coast, the ROV drew a blank. “We have searched in about four locations and could not find anything. For the time being we have suspended the operations and the ship has returned,” said NIOT Director S.S.C. Shenoi.

The AN-32 went missing on July 22 and several ships and planes from the armed forces were pressed into service for the search, which has been elusive so far. The NIOT’s ROV got into the act last month and it was armed with a camera eye which can scan for 10 metres wide and reach up to depths of 6,000 metres.

Starting problem
Initially, the ROV had a starting problem as it too got affected by last year’s Chennai floods and later, expert teams had identified 70 probable spots to search. It was later narrowed down to 22 spots and then pinpointed to seven precise spots where the aircraft might have crashed after checking on the extensive data obtained after mapping of the sea floor of up to one lakh square kilometres, explained Dr. Shenoi.

Officers of the Indian Navy and the IAF were on board the ship during the search operations conducted over 60 km radius and the director himself monitored the imagery real time and “could only see a clear sea bed.”

Sea floor mapping was done with the help of multi-beam echo scanners by two research ships – Sagar Nidhi of NIOT and Samundar Ratnakar of the Geological Survey of India based on where the plane was last spotted on the radar, crash into the sea and possible breaking on hitting the water.

Since the precise spot of crash was not known it has made the search difficult, said Dr. Shenoi, who is also the Director of the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) here. 

 Thank you Carol for keeping Aunty informed -


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