George’s Point of View
I hope that all of St George’s licensees have been retested.
Anthony St. George was convicted and sentenced to prison on 15 counts of conspiracy and submitting false statements on Federal AviationAdministration (FAA) certifications. At the time, St. George was a designated mechanical examiner for St. George Aviation whose job was to administer FAA tests air-frame and powerplant tests to mechanics after mechanics took the prescribed class.Not only did St. George provide test answers, he skipped segments of the tests and issued certifications when the office was closed.
Similar Posts
- Air Safety | Airbus | Crash | Editorial | France | Germanwings | Germany | Lufthansa | press release | Spain
The Ironic Tragedy of Germanwings Flight 9525
Cockpit door designed to lock trouble out locks in Suicidal Pilot
Pasadena, CA — (ReleaseWire) — 04/02/2015 — As an advocate (not a lawyer) of fair compensation for the victims of plane crashes, I have been closely following the story behind the crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 and the now notorious 27-year-old co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz. As is always the case, a team of expert investigators will dig out the facts to determine the most likely scenario behind the crash. That careful investigation will take a year at the very least. In this Germanwings accident, the one factor that stands out already is the role played by the pilot’s state of mind in what appears now to be his deliberate collision course with the French Alps. It is now common knowledge that the plane disintegrated on impact with the Massif des Trois-Évêchés. Imagine how horrified the families were when the transcript of the CVR (Cockpit Voice Recorder) was quickly leaked by tabloids. Journalists have been shouldering each other out of the way to get to the front of the line, “scooping” each with another “leaked” nugget. A girlfriend’s interview. A medical report here. A video there. TV commentators and newspapers from CNN and the venerable New York Times to the most scurrilous tabloids are spouting “the facts” faster than investigators can have gotten to the information. Tweeting the news as I do results in loads of source-checking, and plenty of on-going head-scratching moments while weeding out wild supposition masquerading as news in sources one would normally consider impeccable. When one source says “the plane is blue,” another says “the plane is red.” Sometimes I can determine which is the truth, but sometimes I have to leave it to readers to puzzle out.
I have been working Wrongful Death cases for some forty-seven years now. I am a consultant to attorneys across the globe who represent the families of Wrongful Death victims. Each investigation is exactly the same in terms of the emotional impact of the accident. Devastating. Whether the case may or may not end up in court, whether or not the accident catches the media’s attention, every aspect is always impossibly difficult for the families. Some accidents seem similar because they share a factor, whether it be similar weather conditions, mechanical difficulties, or a particular flaw in a particular model of plane.
Some aviation accidents personify extremes. Consider that while there is always some degree of speculation as to an accident’s cause, MH370 brought as many conspiracy theorists out of the woodwork in this past twelve months as Amelia Earhart’s disappearance has in the past 87 years. Everything seems plausible when people are desperate for an explanation. Because in this age of cell phones and satellites, there is simply no explanation for a plane to vanish, MH370 has become the “poster child” for speculation. I expect MH370 will continue to spawn new theories and will endure as a mystery until, at some point, the wreckage will be found and examined.
If I were comparing MH370 and Germanwings 9525, I could write a whole piece examining the conflict of government transparency vs. individual confidentiality, but that was not my intent today. I was just thinking of aviation safety, and how 9/11 became the catalyst for upgraded multifaceted flight deck security. One outcome of 9/11 is the impregnable, indestructible cockpit door, the brain child of countless engineering hours, security and scientific research. Passengers since 9/11 have flown safe in the knowledge that no intruder could again gain entry to the cockpit and overpower the pilot thanks to redundant enhanced security precautions and a door designed to keep the dangerous people out. Now there’s a cockpit voice recording that appears to show that same safe cockpit door is the barrier that kept the PIC from being able to save everyone aboard. Captain Patrick Sondenheimer died trying to get that door open.
The impregnable cockpit door, the terrible irony of Germanwings Flight 9525.
About Air Crash Consultants
A division of Wrongful Death Consultants, Air Crash Consultants was established to network between lawyers and their clients, bridging the gaps, especially in regard to International clients, freeing and enabling the lawyer to concentrate on higher priority commitments. Air Crash Consultant services might also be designated as an umbrella, because the company’s functions encompass a variety of problem-solving areas in support of the lawyer-client relationship as needed. Services are not limited to finding experts, developing translation teams, client support, document handling, drafting demand letters, client interviews, etc. Visit the company websites at”
http://aircrashconsultants.com
http://wrongfuldeathnews.com
http://wrongfuldeathconsultants.com Afriqiyah Airways A330 crash investigation
The insurers have had months to move this case along.
They had months to compensate the families of victims. Have they done so?
Word is that they have not.The one year anniversary of the crash is on May 12.
Look at what we have. No compensation.
Look at the debris field. Do we have spoliation of evidence? Common elements like weather wreak havoc on evidence. Just look at what rust does and you have a pretty good idea of the kind of details can be erased by weather. So if the evidence has been defaced by exposure to the elements, how might spoilation of evidence affect the case? No doubt it will result in a series of failed attempts. Failure to secure evidence. Inability to analyze degraded evidence. Obfuscated results.For crash investigators, fresh evidence can be as easy to read as a book. Waiting until the evidence is unintelligible leaves us with no Rosetta Stone to help us get to the cause. Another missed opportunity to make aviation a little safer. Another missed opportunity to bring closure to the families who were immeasurably damaged by this crash.
Boeing 787 Smokes Battery in Boston
On January 7, 2013, a Japan Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner Japan-Boston had already landed in Boston, and all 184 passengers had safely disembarked when smoke filled the cabin.A fire was found in a battery aboard the plane. Boston Firefighters arrived at 10:40 a.m. and put out the fire.
Passengers were provided alternative transportation and overnight accommodations.
Electrical issues in the avionics bay where the battery is located are a known issue in this type of plane, which uses electrical motors instead of hydraulics in certain areas. The auxiliary battery in the compartment kicks in after the engine kicks off. That’s what happened on test flights, and from what I have heard, that is what happened here.
In George’s Point of View
Let’s slow down with this great plane. Let’s get the kinks out of it before we put humans on too many of these Dreamliners. Let them stay Dreamliner and not become Nightmareliners. United is starting service but are these planes really ready? There have been engine problems and some spooky events. We don’t read too much about them, but I know they have occurred. I love this plane, I want to fly all over the world in it, and if I live long enough, I will, but, is it ready?According to the NTSB report below, the NTSB seems to agree with me that incidents like this warrant investigation.
Press Release
WASHINGTON– Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board are gathering information regarding reports of smoke aboard a Boeing 787 at Boston’s Logan Airport today.The Japan Airlines 787 was on the ground and empty of passengers at the time of the incident.
The NTSB has dispatched an investigator to Boston. Based on a review of the factual information gathered, the NTSB will determine the extent of its investigation.
Video BelowGrounded Planes but 31 Passengers will be IN the ground
After Monday’s ATR crash when the pilots of the UTAir flight were returning to the airport and crashed in a snowy field, with much of the world not flying on ATR 72-200 planes, you can not believe how many people today mentioned to me their opinion that these planes should just be grounded, period. Frankly, I agree.There have been questions about this kind of plane since 1994, when American Eagle Flight 4181 crashed, and killed 68 people. Though the “Anti Ice” boots were “improved” this model has a known problem with ice. A TransAsia Airways crashed due to icing in 2002. Since ice is a known problem of these planes, any failure to deal with icing is surely negligence. But of course it is too soon to tell.
There are plenty of rumors flying. (They seem to have better lift than the planes.) A Reuters article claims the black boxes indicate all engines were functioning, but there are also indications that this plane may not have been correctly or properly de-iced before takeoff, and that smoke was spotted from the engine. Not that Russian skies are particularly safe, given there were fifteen Russian crashes last year alone.
Russia is not particularly known for keen government supervision of the Russian sky or some of their crumbling airports either, for that matter, but grounding ATR 72-200 aircraft is a step in the right direction. Let’s just see if they pull aging aircraft, look at crew training or start considering safety over profits.
Even if they do, it won’t bring back the decedents.