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Technical Difficulty: Specific Answers imprisoned in “the vague”


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What: Cityjet Avro RJ-85/Air France en route from Edinburgh to Paris
Where: Birmingham UK
When: Jul 8th 2010
Why: While en route, the Air France flight developed “technical problems” and diverted to Birmingham where it made a safe landing. Passengers were provided alternative flights.

Avro (1963) was taken over by Hawker Siddely, and later merged with British Aircraft Corp and Scottish Aviation (1977) , which was succeeded by British Aerospace( 1999) , and then succeeded by BAE Systems.

George’s Point of View

Technical issues? In this day and time, it seems to me that “technical issues” is an inadequate description of a problem. These have all been lumped at one time under “technical issues”:

  • Polish air force Tupolev 154 that crashed during an attempted landing in Smolensk, Russia, on April 10, 2010. 96 killed
  • Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 that took off in Beirut, caught fire and crashed into the Mediterranean on Jan. 25, 2010. 90 killed
  • Yemenia Airways Airbus A310 that crashed into the Indian Ocean on approach to Moroni, on June 30, 2009. 152 killed
  • Air France Airbus A330 en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1, 2009. 228 killed
  • Turkish Airlines Boeing 737 that crashed shy of Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport runway on Feb. 25, 2009 9 killed (135 aboard)

A cursory announcement of a problem should be specific.

Was it a problem with an indicator? an alarm system? a physical problem? a communication problem? loss of control? overheating? leaks? maintenance?

The only way design issues can be caught ahead of the disaster is if full disclosure of the exact problem is noted publicly, and cross-checked with all other incidents and problem reports. If Air France or Cityjet Avro wants to present details, I would be delighted to present them in this forum here.

Air France—like all carriers—needs to practice full disclosure. If the cause is unknown, then it is multiplicatively more important to disclose the exact issue so that the problem can recorded, cross checked, and be tracked down. Maybe if there were less secrecy and more open communication in the field of aviation safety, the 575 lost in recent crashes would still be here.

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  • Hatcher’s Opinion

    In George’s Point of View


    We know we list “causes” of plane crashes on this site, but we report them as we hear them. Only an official report can say what the actual cause is, and that investigation will take months or years. In the Bhoja Airlines crash, they have promised a report in three to twelve months. (In the Air Blue case it will be two years on the anniversary of the crash, July 28.) We know that even if ten seconds after an accident, Huffington Post, Reuters, the New York Times, and the BBC all report to the world the cause of a crash is a broken “flux capacitor,” some people take this as fact. It is not fact; it is some portion of probably semi-accurate data that has ricocheted around a reporter’s brain before being offered to the public in the form of a reporter or observer’s opinion. In some cases, it is a good, expert opinion. Sometimes it is a reasonable guess, but that is all it is. More frequently, it is a shot in the dark, but one that seems to align with whatever truths or half-truths have been revealed to the news-hungry public. We know the actual causes of a crash are a combination of factors, and those factors are only discovered by knowledgeable investigators following the specific trail of proof. Primary sources.

    Furthermore, we’re not running a country, airport or even an airline. We’re just running a column here with the most accurate aviation news sources we can find. We have a whole lot of expert pilots to bounce our theories off of, when we have theories to postulate. But this is too early for theories. For this editorial, I’ve got some opinions to air and I can’t blame my opinions on any pilot. In my opinion, Pakistan allowed the Bhoja Airlines crash to happen by not maintaining standards and by botching the Air Blue investigation.

    It is not that anyone expects perfection in performance. Planes break. Machines fail. Things happen. The whole reason nations have developed a culture of safety with systems and redundancy, standards and guidelines is to provide a safety net for when things fail. Not if they fail, but when. Because sooner or later, something breaks. Every problem caught in this “net” is one disaster that did not happen.

    See, I’m outraged. Pakistan has no “safety net”—or at least, if it does, it has holes in it big enough for Air Blue Flight 202 and Bhoja Airlines B4-213 to fall through. The needless deaths of the passengers are beyond disturbing. The Bhoja Airlines crash was a predictable disaster—predictable based on poor management in the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), corruption and worse in PIA (state-owned Pakistan International Airlines), and the longstanding weakness of Pakistan’s entire aviation industry. It should not have happened. The aviation authorities in Pakistan, or those with the power to revamp the CAA need to wake up and smell the diesel, or this terrible disaster trend will continue. If Pakistan does not initiate aviation safety reform, these disasters will happen again and again.

    The people of Pakistan deserve the truth. The truth about what really happened in the Air Blue crash and the truth about what really happened with Bhoja Air. Aviation safety can be served only by the truth. Not by fantasy. Not by confusion. Not by wishful thinking. Not by imaginary reports. Not by speculation from outside observers like me. Not by cover-ups.

    The CCA was willing to blame the pilot of Air Blue Flight 202 in that not-so-credible report just to put the investigation to bed. After the second big Islamabad crash in two years, this Bhoja Airlines tragedy isn’t going gently into that good night. Two crashes in two years emphasize that there are questions that need to be answered, problems that need to be addressed, and soon—before more tragedies follow. Two crashes in as many years in Islamabad are a harsh condemnation of the condition of Pakistani aviation, and demonstrate a careless disregard for human life.

    I’ve said long before this that Pakistani courts should have demanded big compensation, not just for the sake of the families of the victims, but as a punitive lesson to the carriers and the whole industry to get their act together. Money seems to be the ONLY thing some of these big airlines listen to. People who need to fly should not be putting their lives at risk every time they set foot on a plane. Government should back a rock-solid tangible standard of safety. It is up to governmental agencies to set standards and maintain them, and set consequences for wrongful or negligent action/inaction.

    For the Bhoja Air crash, it is far too soon to do anything but ask questions, even though officials seem ready to hand out answers even before investigators have been assigned to an investigation.

    It is common knowledge in aviation circles that the CCA’s investigation (and the erroneous investigative “preliminary” et cetera reports) of Air Blue can be held up as an international standard of how NOT to handle an investigation. Is the CCA not responsible as well? It is not only I who think this. The Peshawar High Court’s order of January 19 told the CCA and defense ministry to form a board of experts to examine all aircraft, CAA performance, flying pilots and crew. The court expected all planes and pilots not airworthy to be grounded. Has this happened? We believe if that order had been followed to the letter, the Bhoja Air crash might have been prevented.

    Let’s look at it in a practical sense. A crash is a lesson in air safety. It is a terrible, tragic, expensive lesson, but it is the one thing that can provide answers that can increase safety–at the terrible cost of lives lost. Lessons like this are essential to the safety of Pakistanis who travel by air. The crash happened. Learn from it.

    There are hundreds of questions but I’ll start with just a few.

    Has the CCA cleaned house? Is it manned by impartial professionals? Is the CCA still staffed by former aviation employees with vested interest in the airlines? Since the Air Blue investigation debacle, how has the CCA tangibly demonstrated raising the bar for itself?

    Where are the corrective measures that were taken country-wide after the crash of Air Blue Flight 202? Since the January 19th order, is there a record of safety checks in all the aforementioned areas of weakness across the board (commercial, non-commercial aviation and private)? Regulated plane inspections? Manditory pilot training, checks, quality standards and procedures for improvement? Were tangible changes made to correct any problems that were uncovered? After the 12 year interim in operations, was Bhoja Air forced to prove they would be observing international safety standards before they were allowed to extract payment from passengers and put them on possibly unsafe planes with potentially inept pilots to fly to a potentially inadequate airport in avoidable bad weather to their death?

    The plane had a history. At 28 years old, it just may have been older than its pilot.Construction number 23167. Registered in Great Britain as G-BKYI. First flight on December 13, 1984. Delivered to British Airways, January 7, 1985. Registered in South Africa as ZS-OLB and operated by Comair Limited, June 6, 1999. Aircraft stored at Johannesburg Airport (JNB), South Africa, January 2011. Registered in Pakistan as AP-BKC for Bhoja Air, January 2012. Many pilots are “nervous” about flying a twenty-eight year old Boeing 737-200; more are nervous about flying a plane that has been stored–What was the condition of AP-BKC? Would it have been allowed to fly in the US and the EU?

    Witnesses say (and we all know how reliable that can be) that the plane’s wing had caught fire after a lightning strike; then rapidly descended to the ground, bounced off the ground and became airborne with its wing on fire and struck the ground again. Another witness said the wing caught on fire after the plane bounced off the ground.

    Which is true? Are there security cameras? Airport footage? When did the fire start?

    Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority said the aircraft was flying too low. Ten kilometers before touchdown, they should have been at 1700 feet; they were at 200 feet. Why was the plane at 200 feet? At what point did the pilots lose control of the plane? Who was flying this plane? Had control already been lost? How much experience did the pilot and copilot have in the cockpit? What was the extent of the training, and was there CMT (Cockpit management training)? CMT was certainly deficit in the Air Blue crash. How do we know if cockpit management training had been improved?

    If wind shear or microbursts are a factor, as some suggest, is the airport equipped with LIDAR*, Doppler Radar,** LLWAS,*** ITWAS**** or WSP*****? Was the plane outfitted or retrofitted with Doppler? If so, what went wrong? If not, why is such equipment not mandated for commercial craft?

    There is a protocol to be observed in air crashes. It is a protocol that is accepted by all of the industrialized nations because through experience, investigators have learned how best the truth can be learned. It is only by learning the true conditions of the crash that further crashes can be prevented. If the site of the crash is not cordoned off, the entire investigation is compromised before it has ever begun. IS PAKISTAN FOLLOWING THIS INVESTIGATIVE PROTOCOL?

    Let us hope that the investigation will not be clouded by political ploys, backroom deals, and all the other ills governments can be prone to.

    It may be that someone in the Pakistani government is waking up, since the government mandated Sunday that all airplanes operated by private airlines must undergo a new inspection. The Defense minister has said that any aircraft that fail will be grounded. Let us hope they reverse that order slightly and ground ALL PLANES immediately. Only the planes that pass a rigorous examination should be allowed to fly. Let us hope that they are only flown by pilots who are qualified to be in the cockpit.

    An impartial investigation will bring Pakistan closer to International standards, serve justice, set a footing in the infrastructure of aviation safety, and take a first step toward providing the families of the crash victims some degree of closure.

    *LIDAR- light detecting and Ranging equipment which has been used to detect wind shear and microbursts around airports since 2007
    **Doppler Radar has been used to detect microburst danger since 2002
    *** LLWAS -low level wind shear alert systems which does not detect microburst activity
    **** ITWS-advanced systems in the field and being developed, which provides alerts for microbursts, wind shear, and storm activity. ITWAS displays wind information oriented to the threshold or departure end of the runway.
    *****WSP provides Air Traffic with detection and alerting of hazardous weather such as wind shear, microbursts, and significant thunderstorm activity. The WSP displays terminal area 6 level weather, storm cell locations and movement

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    Small Plane Crashes in NJ

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    4 bodies identified, 1 missing in the NJ crash. Monmouth Airport is 5 miles east of Trenton. In Wall township. Relatives of the pilot were on the scene (mentioned on the video) and the current input is that the plane was neither going to or from Monmouth.


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
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    What: Jack Air LLC’s Cessna T337G Turbo Super Skymaster en route to Monmouth Executive Airport
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    Who: 2 dead, 3 missing
    Why: Witnesses saw the plane coming in for a landing when the tail broke off, the plane veered and crashed nose down beside the runway in a field.

    Witnesses say the pilot pulled up and a piece of the plane fell off before it spun out of control and crashed.

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    Pilots Walk Away from Totaled Plane


    A Beech 76 Duchess in Naples Florida
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    What: Beechcraft model 76, twin engine, four-seater
    Where: George T. Lewis Airport
    When: 1:45 p. m. Saturday Oct 17
    Who: Pilot Mathias H. Ejegaard, 24, of Sweden; passenger (also a pilot) Ezekiel G. Andrews, 24, of Alabama
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    Maybe all runways should end in marshes.

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    Islamabad: Emergency Landing


    Pictured: A USA – Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III dropping off evacuees from Haiti
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
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    What: US C-17 en route from Skardu to Peshawar
    Where: Benazir International Airport
    When: Sept 17
    Who: 176 passengers
    Why: A US plane airlifting flood refugees from the northern city of Skardu was struck by an unidentified technical problem, and made an emergency landing. There were no injuries

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    Air France Plane Diverts to Montreal

    Air FranceAir France flight AF054 had to make an emergency landing at Trudeau Airport in Montreal, Canada, at around 4 p.m. on January 1, 2014.

    The flight, en-route from Paris to Washington D.C., was diverted after smoke was detected in the business class cabin.

    The Boeing 777-300, carrying 152 passengers and 17 crew members, landed safely and no one aboard was harmed.

    The airline confirmed the incident saying that the emergency landing was due to a “minor technical problem”.

    The plane was later able to resume the flight.

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    Air France Press Releases

    Flight Air France 447 Rio de Janeiro – Paris-Charles de Gaulle

    Paris, 01 June 2009 – 16:44 local time
    Press release N° 4
    Air France expresses its deepest sympathy to the relatives and friends of the passengers and crew who were on board AF flight 447 on 31 May 2009, which disappeared somewhere between Rio de Janeiro and Paris-Charles de Gaulle.

    Air France is doing its utmost to provide support to relatives and friends: counselling with physicians and psychologists as well as specially trained Air France volunteers has been set up at the airports of Paris-Charles de Gaulle 2 and Rio de Janeiro.

    Air France has also established a special toll-free number for the attention of relatives and friends of passengers who may have been on board. They can use this number to obtain information on whether or not a member of their family or friends was on board.

    Phone number reserved for relatives and friends

    0800 800 812 in France,
    0800 881 20 20 in Brazil,
    and + 33 1 57 02 10 55 for calls from all other countries.

    Air France will release further information as soon as it is available.

    NB: We ask journalists not to call this number, which is reserved for relatives and close friends.

    Português
    Air France dirige suas sinceras condolências às famílias e amigos dos passageiros e membros da tripulação que se encontravam a bordo do voo AF 447 do dia 31 de maio, desaparecido entre o Rio de Janeiro e Paris Charles de Gaulle.

    A Air France está concentrando todos os seus esforços em dar suporte às famílias e parentes: uma assistência psicológica foi instalada no aeroporto de Paris Charles de Gaulle 2 e no aeroporto do Rio de Janeiro. Ela é composta de médicos e psicólogos, assim como voluntários da empresa, especialmente treinados para estas situações.

    A empresa também colocou à disposição um número de telefone toll free especial de atendimento às famílias dos passageiros. Ela informa, conforme solicitação, de uma eventual presença a bordo de um familiar.

    Números de telefone reservados às famílias
    0800 881 20 20 para o Brasil,
    0800 800 812 para a França,
    e 33 1 57 02 10 55 para outros países

    Air France comunicará outras informações assim que elas estiverem disponíveis.

    NB : Solicitamos aos jornalistas que NÃO liguem para este número, reservado às famílias.
    Paris, 01 June 2009 – 15:59 local time
    Press release N° 3
    Air France has sent all the information in its possession on the disappearance of flight AF 447 operating the Rio de Janeiro – Paris-Charles de Gaulle route to the French Accident Investigation Bureau for civil aviation (BEA), the French organization in charge of technical investigations into civil aviation incidents and accidents, and to the aircraft manufacturer Airbus. Air France is in permanent contact with the BEA and Airbus.

    The Airbus A330-200 aircraft, registration F-GZCP, left Rio on 31 May at 7:03pm local time (12:03am in Paris). The aircraft hit a zone of stormy weather with strong turbulence at 2am this morning (universal time), i.e. 4am in Paris. An automatic message was received from the aircraft at 2:14am (4:14am in Paris) indicating a failure in the electric circuit in an area a long way off the coast.

    The aircraft was powered with General Electric CF6-80E engines.

    The aircraft had totalled 18,870 flight hours and went into service on 18 April 2005.
    Its last maintenance check in the hangar took place on 16 April 2009.

    Air France shares the anxiety and distress of the families concerned. The families are being taken care of in a specially reserved area of Paris-Charles de Gaulle Terminal 2.

    A toll-free number has been opened at 0800 800 812 in France,
    at 0800 881 20 20 in Brazil
    and + 33 1 57 02 10 55 for calls from outside France.
    NB: We ask journalists not to call this number, which is reserved for families and close relatives.

    Português

    Air France informou ao Bureau de Investigação e Análises para a Segurança de Aviação civil, organismo responsavél na França pelas investigações técnicas sobre acidentes e incidentes da aviação civil, e para a Airbus, fabricante do avião, as informações que tem em seu poder após o desaparecimento do voo AF 447, fazendo a ligação Rio de Janeiro – Paris-Charles de Gaulle : a companhia está em contato permanente com o Bureau e com a Airbus.

    A aeronave, do tipo Airbus A330-200, matrícula F-GZCP, deixou o Rio dia 31 de maio às 19h03 (hora local).

    A aeronave atravessou uma zona de tempestade com fortes turbulências às 2 horas da manhã (horário TU) – 23 horas horário do Brasil. Uma mensagem automática foi recebida às 2h14 da manhã (horário TU = 23h14 horário do Brasil) indicando uma pane do circuito elétrico numa zona afastada da costa.

    A aeronave é equipada de motores General Electric CF6-80E.

    O avião tem um total de 18 870 horas de voo e começou a operar em 18 de abril de 2005.

    A última visita de manutenção em hangar foi feita em 16 de abril de 2009.

    A Air France divide a emoção e a inquietação das famílias envolvidas. Os familiares serão recebidos num local especialmente reservado no aeroporto de Paris Charles de Gaulle 2 assim como no Salão Nobre do Galeão.

    Um toll free está disponível :
    0800 881 2020 para o Brasil
    0800 800 812 para a França,
    e + 33 1 57 02 10 55 para outros países

    NB : Solicitamos aos jornalistas que NÃO liguem para este número, reservado às famílias.
    Paris, 01 June 2009 – 15:10 local time
    Press release N° 2
    Air France regrets to confirm the disappearance of flight AF 447 flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris-Charles de Gaulle, scheduled to arrive at 11:10am local time today, as announced to the press by Air France CEO, Pierre-Henri Gourgeon.

    The Airbus A330-200, registration F-GZCP, left Rio on 31 May at 7:03pm local time (12:03am in Paris).

    The aircraft hit a zone of stormy weather with strong turbulence at 2am this morning (universal time), i.e. 4am in Paris. An automatic message was received from the aircraft at 2:14am (4 :14am in Paris) indicating a failure in the electric circuit a long way from the coast.

    The Brazilian, African, Spanish and French air traffic control centres all tried to make contact with flight AF 447 but to no avail. The French military air traffic control centre tried to detect the aircraft but did not succeed.

    216 passengers were on board: 126 men, 82 women, 7 children and one infant.

    There were 12 flight crew members: 3 pilots and 9 flight attendants.

    The flight captain had a record of 11,000 flight hours and had already flown 1,700 hours on Airbus A330/A340s.

    Of the two first officers, one had flown 3,000 flight hours (800 of which on the Airbus A330/A340) and the other 6,600 (2,600 on the Airbus A330/A340).

    The aircraft was powered by General Electric CF6-80E engines.

    The aircraft had totalled 18,870 flight hours and went into service on 18 April 2005.
    Its last maintenance check in the hangar took place on 16 April 2009.

    Air France fully shares the anxiety and distress of the families concerned. The families are being taken care of in a specially reserved area of Paris-Charles de Gaulle Terminal 2.

    A toll-free number has been opened at 0800 800 812 for calls from France,
    and + 33 1 57 02 10 55 for calls from outside France.
    NB: We ask journalists not to call this number, which is reserved for families and close relatives.

    Português
    A Air France lamenta informar o desaparecimento do voo AF 447 que efetuava a ligação entre Rio de Janeiro e Paris-Charles de Gaulle, chegada prevista às 11h10 (hora local), acaba de anunciar o Diretor Geral da Air France, Pierre-Henri Gourgeon.

    A aeronave, do tipo Airbus A330-200, matrícula F-GZCP, deixou o Rio dia 31 de maio às 19h03 (hora local).

    A aeronave atravessou uma zona de tempestade com fortes turbulências às 2 horas da manhã (horário TU) – 23 horas horário do Brasil. Uma mensagem automática foi recebida às 2h14 da manhã (horário TU = 23h14 horário do Brasil) indicando uma pane do circuito elétrico numa zona afastada da costa.

    O conjunto dos controles aéreos civis brasileiro, africano, espanhol e francês tentaram em vão estabelecer contato com o voo AF 447. O controle aéreo militar francês tentou detectar o avião, sem sucesso.

    216 passageiros estão a bordo : 126 homens, 82 mulheres, 7 crianças e um bebê.

    A tripulação é composta por 12 pessoas : 3 tripulantes técnicos e 9 comissários.

    O comandante tem 11 mil horas de voo e já tinha efetuado 1700 horas no Airbus A330/A340.

    Os dois co-pilotos possuem: um 3000 horas de voo, sendo 800 horas em Airbus A330/A340 e o outro 6600, sendo 2 600 em Airbus A330/A340.

    A aeronave é equipada de motores General Electric CF6-80E.

    O avião tem um total de 18 870 heures de voo e começou a operar em 18 de abril de 2005.

    A última visita de manutenção em hangar foi feita em 16 de abril de 2009.

    A Air France divide a emoção e a inquietação das famílias envolvidas. Os familiares serão recebidos num local especialmente reservado no aeroporto de Paris Charles de Gaulle 2 assim como no do Galeão.

    Um toll free está disponível :
    0800 881 2020 para o Brasil
    0800 800 812 para a França,
    e + 33 1 57 02 10 55 para outros países
    NB : Solicitamos aos jornalistas que NÃO liguem para este número, reservado às famílias
    Paris, 01 June 2009 – 13:31 local time
    First press release
    Air France regrets to announce that it has lost contact with flight AF 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris-Charles de Gaulle, expected to arrive this morning at 11:15 local time.

    The flight left Rio on 31 May at 7pm local time.

    216 passengers are on board.

    There are 12 crew members on board: 3 pilots and 9 cabin crew.

    The following toll-free number is available in France: 0800 800 812,
    and + 33 1 57 02 10 55 outside France.

    Air France fully shares the anxiety and distress of the families of the passengers concerned. The families are been taken care of in a specially reserved area at Paris-Charles de Gaulle 2 airport.

    Português

    Air France lamenta informar que se encontra sem notícias do voo AF 447 que efetuava a ligação entre Rio de Janeiro e Paris Charles de Gaulle, com chegada prevista às 11h15 da manhã (hora local).

    O voo decolou do Rio no dia 31 de maio às 19 horas locais.

    216 passageiros estão a bordo.

    A tripulação é composta de 12 pessoas : 3 tripulantes técnicos e 9 comissários.

    Um toll free está disponível :
    0800 800 812 para a França,
    e + 33 1 57 02 10 55 para outros países

    A Air France divide a emoção e a inquietação das famílias envolvidas. Os familiares serão recebidos num local especialmente reservado no aeroporto de Paris Charles de Gaulle 2 assim como no do Galeão.

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