According to Peter Goelz ,former managing director of the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Malaysia has not abided by the protocols of the Convention on International Air Transportation, in handling the Malaysia Airlines’ (MAS) MH370 disappearance crisis.
In a recent interview, he regarded Malaysia’s conduct in this case as ‘the worst he has ever seen’.
What is it that I’ve always said? Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance.
Looks like the NTSB Findings agree with me! See their report below about a helicopter crash in December 7, 2011, that occurred in my home away from home, Las Vegas Nevada.
PRELIMINARY REPORT
On December 7 at 4:30 Pacific Standard Time, a Eurocopter AS350-B2, operated by Sundance Helicopters as flight Landmark 57, crashed in mountainous terrain approximately 14 miles east of Las Vegas. The flight, a sightseeing tour, departed Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS) en-route to the Hoover Dam area was operating under visual flight rules. The helicopter impacted in a narrow ravine in mountainous terrain between the cities of Henderson and Lake Mead. The pilot and four passengers were fatally injured.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined today (Jan. 29, 2013) that the probable cause of the Dec. 7, 2011, air tour helicopter crash near Las Vegas, Nev., was inadequate maintenance, including degraded material, improper installation, and inadequate inspections.
“This investigation is a potent reminder that what happens in the maintenance hangar is just as important for safety as what happens in the air,” said NTSB Chairman Deborah A. P. Hersman.
At about 4:30 p.m. Pacific standard time, a Sundance Helicopters Eurocopter AS350, operating as a “Twilight City Tour” sightseeing trip, crashed in mountainous terrain about 14 miles east of Las Vegas, Nev. The helicopter originated from Las Vegas McCarran International Airport at about 4:21 p.m. with a planned route to the Hoover Dam area and then return to the airport. The accident occurred after a critical flight control unit separated from another, rendering the helicopter uncontrollable. After the part separated, the helicopter climbed about 600 feet, turned about 90 degrees to the left, descended about 800 feet, began a left turn, and then descended at a rate of at least 2,500 feet per minute to impact. The pilot and four passengers were killed and the helicopter was destroyed.
The NTSB found that the crash was the result of Sundance Helicopters’ improper reuse of a degraded self-locking nut in the servo control input rod and the improper or non-use of a split pin to secure the degraded nut, in addition to an inadequate post-maintenance inspection.
Contributing to the improper (or lack of) split pin installation was the mechanic’s fatigue and lack of clearly delineated steps to follow on a “work card” or “checklist” The inspector’s fatigue and lack of a work card or checklist clearly laying out the inspection steps to follow contributed to an inadequate post-maintenance inspection. As a result of this investigation the NTSB made, reiterated and reclassified recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration.
“One of the critical lines of defense to help prevent tragedies like this crash is improved maintenance documentation through clear work cards, or checklists,” Hersman said. “Checklists are not rocket science, but they can have astronomical benefits.”
Pictured: Couger-owned Sikorsky S-61N Helicopter
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Phil Earle
On March 12, 2009, about 0926 ADT, Atlantic Daylight Time, a Sikorsky S-92A helicopter, Canadian registry C-GZCH, operated by Cougar Helicopters, impacted the waters of the North Atlantic about 28 miles east of Cape Spear near St. John’s, Newfoundland. There were two pilots, Pilot Matthew William Thomas Davis, 34, of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador and First Officer Tim Lanouette, 48, of Comox, British Columbia, both of whomdied in the accident, and 16 passengers on board the helicopter. One passenger, Robert Decker, survived with serious injuries, but the other occupants were fatally injured. The helicopter was en route from St. John’s International Airport (CYYT) to an offshore oil platform in the Hibernia oil field. The pilot made a MAYDAY call due to a mechanical difficulty, and was returning to St. John’s at the time of the accident. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and the sea state had 3 – 5 meter swells. An instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed.
The NTSB has recommended that any gearbox losing oil pressure should have the capacity to run dry for 30 minutes before failure. In the case of Flight 491, the elapsed time between the warning light and the ditching of the aircraft in the sea was 11 minutes. Two of the three main gearbox mounting studs were broken. When they broke, the helicopter lost oil rapidly and the gears began to overheat.
On March 23, 2009, Sikorsky released a bulletin that most of the world’s S-92TM helicopter fleet already had complied with the company notice to retrofit the aircraft’s gearbox oil bowl with steel mounting studs.
WASHINGTON – The National Transportation Safety Board is convening a 2-day investigative hearing to discuss the ongoing investigation into the crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 and to gather additional factual information. The hearing, which will be held December 10–11, 2013, at the NTSB’s Board Room and Conference Center in Washington, DC, will focus on pilot awareness in highly automated aircraft, emergency response, and cabin safety. Parties participating in the investigative hearing will be announced at a later time.
Below is an update of the ongoing investigation. This is a factual update only and no interviews are being conducted.
• The investigator-in-charge and investigators from the Operations and Human Performance Group traveled to Korea and met with officials from Asiana Airlines and the KARAIB. While in Korea, investigators conducted numerous interviews with Asiana management and training personnel, observed Asiana procedures in a simulator and an exemplar aircraft, and gathered further documentation on airline training and policies.
• NTSB investigators from the Maintenance Group also traveled to Korea and reviewed the records for the accident airplane, including the maintenance that had been performed on the evacuation slides.
• The Survival Factors Group conducted an examination of the evacuation slide/raft systems at the manufacturer’s facility in New Jersey and is planning future testing of the systems. The group also re-examined the wreckage to gather additional information about the fire propagation and structural damage. Following that examination, the wreckage was sectioned and moved to a secure storage facility.
• Investigators and party members met in Seattle to examine the recorded flight data and compare it to the expected airplane systems operation. The Systems Group is currently developing a test plan for the mode control panel and the Vehicle Performance Group is finalizing the event simulation match.
Sara Bajc, partner of Philip Wood, a passenger who is presumed lost on Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, does not believe believe that #MH370 crashed and is at the bottom of the Indian Ocean. She believes the plane is intact because there have been no bodies, no wreckage, no black boxes found and published in the media.
This isn’t news. It is one woman’s opinion. Probably the opinion of many family members of those aboard the plane. And why not? If I had someone lost aboard a missing plane, I too would probably support any kind of theory that kept hope of their survival alive. Can’t put a price on hope.
But.
What if there were a cockpit fire that emitted toxic smoke and destroyed electronics?
What if someone shot down the plane?
What if someone used some new Sci-Fi-like weapon?
What if Malaysia did track the plane on March 8 as this tabloid says?
What if the UK firm Inmarsat tracking is wrong? What if it is right?
I’ve written enough fiction (and lived in spitting distance of Hollywood’s crazy cereal of fruits, nuts and flakes) to know that the marriage of “what if” and a couple of rational-sounding factoids can birth everything from a practically real-life scenario to wildly impossible science-fiction-fantasy voodoo whacko-crazy delights. So there you have it.
You know what I believe? No one has the answers. Until someone is standing in front of me with proof, in my not-so-secret heart of hearts published in full naked glory out here on the internet, I will believe that anyone who says they think they know…is paranoid.
Now…how can I fit all of this into a tweet?
January 23, 2013
WASHINGTON – Tomorrow, National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman will provide an update on the NTSB’s investigation of the Jan. 7 fire aboard a Japan Airlines (JAL) Boeing 787 at Logan International Airport in Boston.
Chairman Hersman will brief credentialed members of the news media on the progress of the investigation, after which she and senior staff will take questions. Those unable to attend in person can call in to a teleconference line.
Reporters will then be invited to view the materials laboratory where the battery is being examined. Photography will be allowed but no “stand-ups” or taped reporting from the lab will be permitted.
For planning purposes, RSVP is required for those planning to either attend in person or call in.
Location: NTSB Boardroom and Conference Center, 429 L’Enfant Plaza East, SW, Washington, DC
Date: Thursday, January 24, 2013
Time: 2:30 p.m.
Participants: Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman; John DeLisi, Director of NTSB Office of Aviation Safety; and Dr.
Joseph Kolly, Director, NTSB Office of Research and Engineering.
The following factual information has been developed about the battery: It consists of eight cells of 3.7 volts each. All eight cells had varying degrees of thermal damage. Six of eight cells have been CT scanned and have been disassembled to expose their electrodes. All electrode windings in the battery are in the process of being photo-documented and are undergoing microscopic examination. In the coming days, the remaining two cells will undergo the same examination. Additional information will be provided tomorrow.
What is significant here is that no report was filed on the United Boeing 787-800 (Washington Dulles,DC-Paris Charles de Gaulle) that received a main battery overheat indication while landing in Paris on
Nov 12th 2017. The battery was venting fluid via from the forward vent relief system. The NTSB reported to Aviation Herald that the occurrence was rated a non-reportable incident. No investigation was opened. 14 other SDR reports were filed).
