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Safekeeping of Passengers Flies or Dies on Banks Due Diligence of Ethiopia Airlines


While one should congratulate Ethiopian Airlines for securing a $765 million package deal to finance five 777s, I hope the banks checked more than just their credit history and their relationship with the banks.

In terms of technological adulthood, Africa is still in its infancy. The pressure put on even a fairly reputable airline company like this to keep up with maintenance and pilot training is immense. It is succeed, or else. Or else, they call the loan and repo the planes. Or else there is a catastrophe and people lose their lives.

If all is ok when plane is leased but two years later airline gets a rap for bad maintenance or pilot training or any of the hundreds of other things that could happen, then the lease co or bank needs to step in and use their clout to demand changes/corrections, or face the consequences. Their contract should have teeth, with consequences that matter enough to the lessee to compel them to action, such as the right to repo that plane for maintenance or neglect issues, or pilot training issues, just as if the lessee were not making their payments. Lenders are pretty good at covering their investment by including clauses like this. Such a provision may already exist. The clause is not window dressing. It can be acted upon. Not for money’s sake. For the sake of lives.

Yes, lives are at stake here. Banks have a duty to monitor the lessee or buyer they entrust, and a duty as well to supervise not only the money but keep up with what is being purchased with the money. Entrusting a less than capable entity in ownership and maintenance of a jet worth millions is certainly dangerous instrumentality. Sufficient time should be allocated to responsible due diligence, beyond the loan/lease, to monitor not only timely payments but also if the company is living up to aggressive guidelines of maintenance and training.

These planes bought with this money, like all other airplanes but especially jets, are weapons of mass destruction. Even if they are not used in a deliberately terrorist act, inexperienced pilots and shotty maintenance can cause that plane to crash and become a weapon for those on board and for those on the ground.

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    Nigeria: ATC Down


    Pictured: An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767-3BG/ER
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Pieter-Jan Van De Vijver

    What: Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from Addis Ababa to Lagos
    Where: Lagos Nigeria
    When: Dec 13th 2009
    Who: 180 passengers
    Why: On approach, ATC communication failed. With air traffic control’s radar and communication radio out of service, the flight circled, and after two hours in a holding pattern, landed after declaring a fuel emergency.

    Other flights also had the same experience.

    Nigeria’s Airspace Management Agency NAMA was unavailable for two hours.

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    Air India Stalls Hurt Families already Suffering


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer WT
    Update

    May 22 was the anniversary of Air India Express Flight 812 from Dubai, which overshot the runway and crashed at Mangalore, India. The crash victims’ support group spokesman said that “About 50 families have received compensation from the insurance companies, but many families have not even been contacted. ” According to the organizer, Rafik Eroth, “…insurance representatives are playing foul over the payouts…Many families have lost their breadwinners and face major financial difficulties. I believe [the insurance companies] are delaying the process to pass the two-year mark so that the families lose their claims.” Families of crash victims had a two-year period in which to apply for compensation

    The Civil Aviation Ministry ordered the airline to provide up to $159,840 to families of the victims in accordance with the Indian Carriage by Air Act, (following the Montreal Convention.)

    It has been a year, and still some of the families have not yet been contacted about compensation.

    The Indian Court of Inquiry probe report was submitted to the civil aviation ministry yesterday. The report says that “Air India pilot Zlatko Glusica, from Serbia, was asleep for much of the three-hour flight and was “disoriented” when the plane started to descend.” The experienced First Officer had fewer hours but was soon due for command, and had landed frequently at that airport. He called for a go-around which the Captain ignored.

    Captain Z Glusica had more than 10,200 hours of flying experience—but not landing at that airport. He was the pilot in command and reacted late, and was suffering from “sleep inertia”. His heavy nasal snoring and breathing was captured on the CVR. Many standard operating procedures were not followed during landing. Co-pilot H S Ahluwalia repeated “abort landing” saying they didn’t have enough runway left, three times asking for a “go around”.

    With less than 3,000 feet of runway left, the pilots tried to take off again and crashed in the gorge at the runway’s end.

    The plane’s takeoff gear was found activated. Experts concluded if the pilots had not attempted to take off again, the plane emergency brakes could have brought the plane to a halt.

    This is not the first time Air India has had exhausted pilots. What had their schedule been that week?

    June 2008: Mumbai air traffic controllers woke two sleeping pilots with an alarm when they were 200 miles past their destination.

    What: Air India Express Boeing 737-800 en route from Dubai to Mangalore
    Where: Mangalore airport
    When: 6:00 a.m May 22 2010
    Who: Passengers including 23 children, 6 crew= 158 fatalities and 8 survivors
    Why: Air India Express flight 812 attempted touch down was around the middle marker. (Conflicting) reports are that it overshot the runway, and that the pilot intended a go round (tapes reveal the co pilot was urging a go-round) but the plane hit the localizer antenna at the runway’s end, plowed through the perimeter losing part of a wing, and went down 75 feet into a ravine, and broke into pieces and burst into flames. On touchdown, there was a reported “bang” which may have been a tire bursting. A drizzle started after the accident. From 5 to 10 people have been hospitalized, but according to reports there are possibly 3 survivors.

    Survivor Abdul Puttur suffered burns. He was seated near the wing exit and said that the pilot had announced the landing, then there was a thud. He saw huge flames after the plane fell into the ravine and then he jumped out from the back entrance. Another passenger said the pilot made no announcement.

    The Serbian pilot was Zlatko Glusica, first officer was S.S. Ahluwalia.

    According to DGCA rules, Mangalore International Airport is deemed a “critical airfield” which means that “supervised take offs and landings” are prohibited. Only the captain (not the first officer) can pilot take-offs and landings. Mangalore International Airport has a controversial table top runway and which forces pilots to make a precision landing. The airport has no buffer zone, and pilots landing planes must fly precisely or risk hurtling off the edge.

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    Another Aviation Emergency from ETHIOPIAN Airlines


    Pictured: An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-86R
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Konstantin Von Wedelstaedt

    What: ETHIOPIAN Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Bamako Mali to Addis Ababa
    Where: Ndjamena Chad
    When: Jan 29, 2010
    Who: 150 passengers
    Why: After circling N’Djamena for an hour and dumping fuel, the plane made an emergency landing in Chad on Thursday. The emergency was attributed to a radar problem. Earlier the same plane had electrical problems on an earlier leg of the flight.

    Why does this sound to me like an accident waiting to happen? Maintenance! Please!! Let us not have more bad news!

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    XL Insurance Continues Regional Build Up of US Aviation Team, Establishing Chicago Underwriting Operations

    NEW YORK, Nov. 9, 2010 XL Insurance, the global insurance operations of XL Group plc today announced the launch of a new regional aviation underwriting group in Chicago with the appointment of Brian J. Ackland to Class Underwriter.

    Eric Donofrio, North American Regional Manager for XL Insurance’s Aviation unit, said: “We’re off to a good start in Chicago. Bringing both broker and underwriting experience, Brian is a strong addition to our underwriting team. Now with underwriters in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco, our brokers have more direct access to experienced staff who understands aviation risks and the needs of our clients. We’re looking forward to expanding this team in the very near future to be even more responsive to needs of the aviation industry in the US Midwest.”

    Mr. Ackland joins XL Insurance from Aviation Insurance Services (AIS) of Illinois, Inc. In addition to his experience as a broker with AIS, his professional experience includes various underwriting positions with AIG Aviation and United States Aircraft Insurance Group, both in Chicago. A graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Mr. Ackland holds a commercial pilot certificate with multi-engine, instrument and rotorcraft ratings.

    XL Insurance’s global Aerospace operations provide a broad spectrum of coverage for US based and international airlines, products manufacturers, general aviation and space risks around the world.

    XL Insurance is the global brand used by XL Group plc’s insurance companies and underwriting divisions offering property, casualty, professional and specialty insurance products throughout the world. More information about XL Insurance is available at www.xlinsurance.com. XL Group plc, through its subsidiaries, is a global insurance and reinsurance company providing property, casualty, and specialty products to industrial, commercial, and professional firms, insurance companies and other enterprises on a worldwide basis. More information about XL Group plc is available at www.xlgroup.com.

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    Nigeria working toward ICAO Standard

    Long known for substandard aviation, changes seem to be in Nigeria’s future.

    Nigeria’s airports are slated to be revamped to meet international standards according to Stella Oduah, Minister of Aviation. Safety and security are intended to be the new priority, as they aim for “zero” accidents.

    Infrastructure and services are also slated to be improved.

    The ICAO’s AFI plan is part of the Third Pan-African Aviation Training Coordination Conference.

    The conference is organized by the ICAO Comprehensive Regional Implementation Plan for Aviation Safety in Africa (AFI Plan) in cooperation with the aviation regional organizations in the AFI Region, and hosted by the Government of South Africa will be held in Cape Town, South Africa from 27 to 29 July 2011.

    The agenda for the conference is here.

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    Revisiting Ethiopia Flight 409

    We’ve been studying Ethiopia Flight 409 for a while, and now that the official investigation Progress Report is out, we have looked at it with quite some interest. The 28 page report is attached as a pdf at the end of this editorial, so if you haven’t seen it yet, we have it handy–

    In some places, we find that the report corroborates some of the the points we made (or discovered in our research.)

    According to the report:

    “Instruments meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, and the flight was on an instrument flight plan. The accident occurred at night in dark lighting conditions with reported isolated cumulonimbus clouds and thunderstorms in the area.”

    Their report also states:
    The Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority reviewed the data from the Lebanese Meteorological Services that was collected on 25 January, 2010 after the accident. Meteorological data revealed some significant meteorological conditions in the area at the time of the accident. Relevant meteorological documents are included in the investigation file and will be analyzed during the investigation.

    1.7.1 General meteorological situation
    At the time of the accident, there was thunderstorms activity southwest and west of the field, as well as to the northwest on the localizer path for runway 16.

    We had found a satellite photo of the area at the time in question and found something more turbulent than isolated cumulonumbus clouds. Here are the details we turned up
    (thanks to Prof. Robert H. Holzworth
    Departments of Earth and Space Sciences, and Physics
    Director, World Wide Lightning Location Network )

    WWLLN lightning strokes between (45,35.2) and (33.6, 35.7) coordinates on25 Jan 2010 between 00 and 06 UTC
    .
    2010/01/25,00:26:01.675091, 33.7925,  35.3157, 18.6, 15 2010/01/25,00:32:36.535404, 33.6762,  35.3223,  2.6,  5 2010/01/25,00:35:33.147928, 33.8152,  35.3989, 17.1,  9 2010/01/25,00:36:46.386409, 33.7880,  35.4182,  6.3,  6 2010/01/25,00:37:57.880969, 33.7473,  35.4083, 12.9,  8 2010/01/25,00:38:56.307703, 33.8144,  35.4480,  6.7,  5 2010/01/25,00:39:52.170965, 33.8098,  35.4486, 22.5, 1 02010/01/25,00:47:07.877656, 33.7658,  35.5138, 16.3,  7 2010/01/25,00:47:08.129640, 33.7532,  35.5187,  6.8,  5 2010/01/25,00:51:28.917459, 33.7313,  35.4897, 15.8,  8 2010/01/25,00:57:16.994854, 33.7712,  35.5668,  6.2,  5 2010/01/25,00:57:17.172976, 33.8877,  35.6009,  3.1,  5 2010/01/25,00:57:16.970924, 33.8230,  35.5664,  9.2,  5 2010/01/25,01:05:02.878083, 33.6379,  35.5348, 10.9,  5 2010/01/25,02:58:51.961652, 33.6073,  35.3703,  2.3,  5 2010/01/25,03:00:31.235850, 33.6450,  35.3881,  5.8,  7 2010/01/25,03:02:45.342786, 33.6157,  35.3553,  4.5,  7 2010/01/25,03:30:07.101084, 33.6511,  35.3185, 17.5,  7 2010/01/25,04:06:25.411422, 33.8432,  35.3648, 10.9,  5 2010/01/25,04:07:31.723296, 33.9087,  35.3844,  7.0,  5 2010/01/25,04:13:12.295902, 33.9543,  35.4151, 17.0, 10 2010/01/25,04:29:17.203911, 33.9865,  35.4613, 20.7, 10 2010/01/25,04:33:22.703869, 33.9637,  35.3229,  7.6,  6 2010/01/25,04:35:07.805894, 33.8709,  35.3297, 13.3,  8 2010/01/25,04:46:45.611497, 33.9634,  35.4145, 12.9,  6 2010/01/25,05:19:51.913652, 33.6442,  35.4520, 19.5,  8 2010/01/25,05:35:10.788571, 33.9139,  35.2087,  9.5,  7 2010/01/25,05:56:25.149281, 33.6332,  35.6535, 14.0,  7

    and the satellite photo:

    The plane’s on board radar would have normally registered this unacceptable massive super cell in the area where the airplane hit the ocean and the pilot would have adjusted the flight path accordingly. This makes us question if the on board radar was intact and operable. The weather system pictured in the satellite photo is not weather a pilot would voluntarily fly into. So we were not surprised to see this included in the report:

    1.17.1.6 Procedure for use of on-board Weather Radar
    ET provided its SOP and Boeing procedure for the operation of the weather radar during departure. The procedure will be addressed during the analysis phase.

    OTHER POINTS
    Our investigation pointed out that when an aircraft fails, it is a crucial part of the research to look at timely Airworthiness Directives (issued before and after) on the type of plane involved and indeed, this has become part of the ongoing research:

    1.16.4.1 Removal and Analysis of the Trim Tab section:
    ADs were issued (Emergency AD, AD 2010-09-05, AD 2010-17-19) by the FAA respectively on March and August 2010 regarding trim tab control mechanism and this airplane (with serial number 29935) was found affected by these ADs.
    Therefore, and in accordance with the Airworthiness Group recommendation, the Investigation Committee decided the removal of the trim tab control mechanism for further test and research.

    This is not the final report. The final report is due out this summer. We are looking forward to seeing if it answers some of our questions.

    The Official Report

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