Armchair Aviation Experts

[TAILWIND]

This is what happens when ignorant journalists gather infoprmation from here n there and try to publish a sansational story. Comments in parenthesis are mine.

IKRAM HOTI on THE NEWS, 20 JUL 2006

Of landing strips and trips

ISLAMABAD: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has submitted sensitive information regarding flight and landing safety in Pakistan to relevant government authorities on demand after the crash of a Fokker in Multan last week.

CAA Deputy Director General Air Vice Marshal (retd) Safdar Khan (HE IS NOT RETIRED) told ‘The News’ “All monitoring systems of airborne safety and landing mechanisms are perfectly updated and according to schedule. The monitoring of airlines is conducted properly, though it is primarily the duty of the airlines’ managements. The entire CAA staff works vigilantly to ensure safety in the air and while landing of planes at all airports of the country. There is no checking of radar monitoring system or landing guidance system overdue.”

‘The News’ had contacted him after obtaining relevant documents from the Ministry of Defence, headquarters of the Civil Aviation Authority in Karachi and the National Assembly, all pointing out that the landing and radar monitoring systems at airports were faulty and needed immediate attention.
....................
...................

He said, “We have supplied all information on this count and we are not worried about any disaster issues.” Certain lapses in the past few years have been listed by technical staff that indicate mounting worries among the supervisors of CAA after the Multan crash of Fokker. They told ‘The News’ that the worries were not unfounded.

Most passengers and observers have been considering Fokker as an unsafe bird in Pakistan’s airspace, but in view of the latest on the issue it is feared that not even the most sophisticated aircraft is safe at almost 32 strips in the country.

The investigation conducted by ‘The News’ in the case of Fokker aircraft brings to the conclusion that there was nothing terribly wrong with this aircraft. The sum of these investigations is: If landing and radar warning system is left unattended in violation of checking and replacement schedules, disasters can happen any time. (does that in any way concern the Fokker crash on Jul 10)

Technical details of the CAA-supervised domain reveal that this organisation has invited negative rating of the Pakistani system and if the government did not move fast to make corrections, all incoming passengers and local plane-takers might shy away from planes and airports of Pakistan.

Insiders revealed to ‘The News’ that no senior pilot trusts the qualifications of the plane checking officials as they lack the required flying training. One senior pilot said, “I would not allow these under-qualified ones near my plane.”

After talking to technical staff and supervising authorities in the system, one is constrained to conclude that the safety standards at airports and for the airborne planes are suspect from a number of angles.

...............
..................

The cabinet sources revealed that the issue was not only about the LGS, but also about radars, the faulty monitoring of which can land any plane, including that of the president and foreign dignitaries in hazard.

..................
..................

Another important task assigned to this directorate is regular flight-checking of all landing, takeoff guidance system, radars and high-powered guidance lights at all Pakistan Air Force and civil airports by installing highly sophisticated equipment on board the CAA aircraft. Delay in calibration of this equipment can send wrong guidance to pilots and can cause crash or collision. It can also veer the aircraft away from its flight and landing course.

With information from technical people on delays in updating this equipment, ‘The News’ approached the CAA deputy director general, who is technically in-charge of operations, for comments, who said there could be no lapse on this count.

The question was pointed toward the FSD, as it is the backbone of the organisation and directly supervises flight safety of every Pakistani airline aircraft or any foreign aircraft flying to or through Pakistan. It also ensures to remove hazards or obstruction near and around airports that can affect guidance ability of ground equipment.

In the last one year, a number of air incidents have occurred and relevant technical people point at the lapses in monitoring system of FSD, which is conducted through Beach King Airplane.

Last month, an Aga Khan Foundation helicopter crashed in Northern Areas. The FSD was not even aware of the incident for many days and was unmoved even when it came to know of the tragedy and the FSD officials are yet to conduct a formal inquiry.

Two mid-air near collisions between PIA and Air Blue aircrafts occurred about six months ago, with Federal Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on board one of the two aircrafts. (IT CAN EITHER BE THE PILOTS OR THE CONTROLLER AND NOT THE RADAR RESPONSIBLE FOR A NEARMISS) Despite other reasons for these near-collisions, the most alarming one, say the technical staff, is the unchecked and uncertified radar updating over past few years. When asked whether there had been any “overdue radar checking gaps,” the DDG CAA said there were none.

Regulations and standards require it to be conducted once a year without fail. After specified time, the radar guidance is unreliable and there are always hazard indications because of inaccurate flight guidance.

When asked what kind of hazards such overlook could cause, the relevant officials said if the lapse is occurring, it could be taken as conspiracy as well, given the importance of people that take planes for duty or private affairs. They could be VVIPs or top executives. There are six radars in Pakistan covering its entire airspace from their installation in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Multan, Hyderabad and Skesar.

Radars ensure vertical separation of 1,000 feet between all aircrafts flying on the same route and due to unchecked radar system an error of few hundred feet between nearby aircraft can result in a collision. (ALTITUDE INFORMATION IS RECEIVED THROUGH ONBOARD TRANSPONDER NOT THE RADAR, IN THE RVSM ENVIRONMENT ITS THE ACCURACY OF ONBOARDS SYSTEMS WHICH ENSURE ACCURACY NOT THE GROUND RADARS) Radars continuously scan the entire Pakistani airspace and are meant to avert collisions between aircraft. Also in air emergencies and inclement weather en route, radars guide aircrafts in shortest possible distance to nearest airport.

The Fokker crash happened due to certain factors, which could be analysed, the technical people told ‘The News’. After take-off from Multan airport, one of the engines caught fire; the pilot flew aircraft away skipping populated areas to ensure that no damage occurs to life and property on the ground and headed for the open field. As the altitude was low, he decided to land in the open field but in the process got entangled in high-tension electrical wires (HT wires). He would have landed successfully in the fields had he not got entangled in HT wires which came in his path. (EVEN IF THIS HYPOTHESIS IS CORRECT, COULD A PILOT ATTEMPTING A FORCE LANDING OF A HEAVILY LOADED AIRPLANE ON SINGLE ENGINE, WHICH COULD NOT SUSTAIN LEVEL FLIGHT, THATS WHY HE WAS ATTEMPTING TO FORCE LAND, COULD HAVE AVOIDED THE HT WIRES 100 FEET AGL?????)

The aircraft was fully loaded with and became a petrol bomb after getting electrocuted from HT wires. It was the job of FSD CAA to ensure that there were no obstructions in and around the airport, especially in take off and landing air corridors.(FSD CANNOT REMOVE OR RELOCATE HT WIRES FROM ALL POTENTIAL SITES, WHAT WOULD THE AUTHOR DO IF FOKKER ATTEMPTED FORCE LANDING SAY 50 MILES ENROUTE, WOULD HE STILL WANT CAA TO HAVE A CLEAR APPROACH TO ANY FORCELANDING SITE)

In routine checking of airport equipment, the FSD was also required to ensure that no potential flight safety hazards like trees or HT wires obstruct the safe flying in or around airports and to inform the DG CAA if there were any. (APPROACH AND T/OFF PATHS ARE CLEAR OF OBSTRUCTIONS ANYWAY, HOW DO YOU KNOW WHERE AN AIRCRAFT IN DISTRESS WOULD ATTEMPT TO LAND)

The DG civil aviation is thus required to take up the matter with relevant authorities in whose area the hazard occurs. In Multan crash case, the Wapda authorities were to relocate either the HT wires or to place streamers (big red balls of plastic or other material for pilot-precaution) on the wires, which is a mandatory requirement under rules. From cockpit of an aircraft, HT wires cannot be spotted for their thin texture, and the streamers were to cost less than a few hundred rupees to avert hazards.

The pilot could have spotted streamer-covered HT wires and would have avoided them to safely land in the open fields in case of fire the engine caught. The Fokker thus crashed tragically not because of the engine fire but because of absence of streamers that should have been attached to the HT wires in the vicinity of the airport. (THE FOKKER CRASHED ABOUT 3 MILES NORTH EAST OF NORTHERN EDGE OF RUNWAY, IN NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES THE AIRCRAFT WOULD HAVE BEEN SUFFICIENTLY HIGH. STREAMERS CANT BE APLACED ALL OVER) Even the Islamabad Club vicinity has streamers on HT wires to guide pilots in case of emergency landing.

Pilots have reportedly been pointing out to the authorities that the runway lights were not in the best of order. The Fokker pilot, if he had lights in proper view, might have attempted to revert to the runway, they said.(LEAST SAID THE BETTER,)

A CAA aircraft is especially equipped to keep a regular check on such shortcomings. The operational engineering aspect also draws attention of experts as negligence of engineers working under the director flight standards (DFS) need to ensure that airline operators are not flying overloaded airplanes and all electrical and other necessary equipment fitted in airplanes function properly. Random and surprise inspections ensure such safety measures, they said.

According to rules, the DFS is supposed to have an experience of heavy airline jets and the Ministry of Defence is also inquiring the CAA whether it has such a trained person. .......

[atmalik]

Tailwind, I will have to agree with most of the things that you have pointed out. Im surprised that such an article was published in a news paper of international repute. Just reading it I dont think the grammar makes any sense also. But it is what it is.

[Abbas Ali]

CAA contradicts news report

KARACHI: Civil Aviation Authority Pakistan Thursday said it regularly carries out calibration of all its airfields and navigational aids to meet the stringent requirements of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

All operational airports of CAA are well within the safety limits, CAA asserted adding that CAA’s Calibration aircraft is retrofitted with the latest state-of-the-art inspection system (SAFIS). It points out that services of CAA’s capability of calibrating airfields and navigational aids is also regularly and routinely hired by other countries.


CAA’s airfield calibration aircraft (registraton AP-CAA) - Copyright Snorre
Link to large photo: http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0746095/M/

As for the recent Fokker F-27 incident, the CAA strongly feels that at this stage when a Board of Inquiry into the cause of the accident was in process, it would be premature on part of any newspaper to reach conclusion on the reasons for the fatal accident.

It reminded that after Fokker F-27 accident, a high level Board of Inquiry has been constituted comprising representatives from CAA, PIA and PAF.

The CAA is presently carrying out necessary investigations into the matter and after its completion, a report will be submitted to the government.

Showing concern, CAA said that prior to completion of investigation, any conclusive remarks on the accident would not be in conformity with the factual position.

Source: The News