"chuckles- that correspondent you brought up wrote some strange posts with strange ideas. He is Kenyan and doing it in a foreign language."
Then might I respectfully suggest the mods ban him before his words are taken out of context and assumed to be representative of the industry in general?
"chuckles- that correspondent you brought up wrote some strange posts with strange ideas. He is Kenyan and doing it in a foreign language." Then might I respectfully suggest the mods ban him before his words are taken out of context and assumed to be representative of the industry in general?
Might I respectfully suggest that some of the posters here, for whom English is clearly a foreign language, make a much better job of it than some of the "English mother-tongue" posters, who can't be bothered to at least post with approximately correct spelling and grammar (not to mention texto-speak).
(I'm NOT referring to you, chuckles, in hat respect.) The subject was discussed elsewhere, so let's drop it here.
Rainboe says: Can someone please tell me why we are talking about Fairy Dust now?
Surely it must be difficult to be the annointed barking-dog. Those cold spring nights out behind the shed, etc. I have admired some of your past work, but in this instance must suggest that you have totally lost the plot. The first tip-off is that you felt the need to change the name of the thing in order to mock it. Different names and words often correspond to different things, in people language, and so each needs be regarded for what it is, rather than what barks most neatly. I have occasionally made this mistake myself, so please do not take the thought as harsh criticism.
Should you wish to continue barking, here is a link to where you can roll in 'Fairy Dust'
The relevance of the 'Smart Dust' paradigm to the ELT Inop problem is as follows: Even with crash-resistant design, ELT's are subject to failure in high energy impact situations due to a) the requirement that the ELT remain tethered to the aircraft; b) the need for the ELT to transmit at relatively high power via an antenna which itself needs to "see" the sky, which may be broken off or covered up; c) the ELT is a relatively expensive and cumbersome subsystem requiring regular maintenance, so highly-plural ELT's(to possibly solve a,b) are not very practical, and d) the civil ELT 'guard' frequencies are but two in number for the entire planet, causing the design and use of ELT's to be strongly biased to prevent false triggering that can jam valid signals - but this constraint limits useful effect in some cases.
A 'Smart Dust' approach to augment ELT ops hypothetically could provide a secondary mechanism for locating downed aircraft via sat, ground, aerial, etc searching, which could be a totally passive system when not in use and would require very little systems-integration effort for retrofit to the existing fleet. When triggered by impact or signal, the SDELT would release hundreds or thousands of low-cost, micro-miniature transponders into the nearby environment, with a high probability that some would be in view and able to respond to search means. Because of very low signal power and other technical measures, direct identification would be possible, with false triggering and jamming not a major consideration.
'Smart Dust' is a very modern signal networking and modularity concept (with somewhat unfortunate name) that was articulated, publicised and developed toward commercial reality over the last ten years by Prof. Kris Pister at the University of California Berkeley. Should you wish to be informed, these links may prove helpful:
collaborative Smart Dust project backed by General Electric Corp. (April 2007 press rls) LINK
Given the young age of the Kenya 737-800 it certainly was fully ADS-B transponder equipped and transmitting its GPS ground and flight coordinates every second into the dark African night on 1090 MHz. A simple ADS-B receiver (commercially available for less than $800 plus a laptop) at Douala airport tower would have recorded its flight path to a text log until it was down, i.e. position coordinates, altitude, ground speed, vertical velocity, true track. A quick view to the text log after radio comm was lost would have led to the event than happened - within minutes rather that days.
Last edited by threemiles; 14th May 2007 at 10:47.
Why have they not found the CVR? Despite the total destruction of the aircraft, it has to be within a very tightly defined area.
This investigation requires the best in the business. So often have African investigations be little more than publication of a vague idea of what might have happened + taking into account of political sensitises. I fly the sister ship of this aircraft regularly - so you might say I have a vested interest in discovering the truth.
Can anyone from Kenya Airways tell us whether you were carrying out the mandatory Spoiler inspection prior to every departure?
Why have they not found the CVR? Despite the total destruction of the aircraft, it has to be within a very tightly defined area.
Quote:
Cameroon officials disorganised
...The most important component that is yet to be recovered is the cockpit voice recorder. Some of the Kenyan officials here and the next of kin have been feeling dejected because of the disharmony with Cameroonian officials..... Equipment that would have speeded up the rescue is also not available. This includes heavy-duty pumps as well as protective gear, which have had to be transported from Kenya.
Can anyone from Kenya Airways tell us whether you were carrying out the mandatory Spoiler inspection prior to every departure?
The AD wouldn't have applied to KQ Boeing 737-800. Registration 5Y-KYA c/n35069. Here is a link to the Boeing AD which includes the aircraft serial numbers that are affected. http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgAD.nsf/0/d08e486777976e508625729e006ebcde/$FILE/2007-06-52.pdf CC
Where is the 737-800 CVR located? Forward avionics rack or rear fuselage?
Generally these things are in the aft cabin area forward of the vertical fin attachment point. The CVR includes an ultrasonic underwater pinger and is bright orange just like the DFR. The CVR on this aircraft would also be digital - using memory chips rather than tapes or drums - making it very rugged and reliable.
G Willie: Good post matey, a balanced reporter, a good article. Capt Chambo: Thanks, I know I was wondering, as were probably a few others. Good one Matey. Chr's H/Snort. PS: Fairy Dust: Can be bought by the Ton from the NZ Govt.
Search for Truth Over Plane Accident Takes a Strange Turn
Hmm, I was under the impression that the DFDR was already sent to Canada....Apparently, not.
Quote:
GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN Alfred Mutua has brought home to us the politics of aircraft accident investigations. Apparently, there had been a bit of a tussle between Kenyan and Cameroon authorities over the custody of the 'Black Box' recovered from the wreckage of the Kenya Airways crash.
Dr Mutua informed us that Kenya preferred that the Black Box be handed over to Canadian Authorities.
And he went to tell us in great detail why. Canada, he said, was a neutral country, unlike Kenya and Cameroon who were both interested parties.
Another alternative, the United States, could also not be considered neutral because it was the home of Boeing, the aircraft manufacturer.
And none of the European countries could be considered neutral either because Europe is the home of Airbus, the main rival of Boeing.
So what is all this talk about neutrality and interested parties and whatnot and yet we are talking abut a fatal plane crash, not ODM-Narc politics?
Dr Mutua did not have to explain all that, but the answer should be obvious.
Cameroon is not a neutral party to the investigation because the crash occurred on its land shortly after the plane left Douala Airport.
Therefore, it must be presumed that the Cameroon authorities might be keen to demonstrate that the crash was no fault of theirs, that it cannot be pinned down to erroneous clearance for take-off in inclement weather, or faulty instrumentation to guide such decisions.
Then we come to Kenya, or Kenya Airways, to be precise. It was their plane that went down. The reputation, and business prospects, of an airline rests on all those things they advertise: Flatter beds, more leg room, friendlier service, superior smiles, on-time arrivals and departures, less unpalatable food, route networks and so on.
And, preferably left unsaid lest customers be reminded about the hazards of flying, the safety record.
The Abidjan disaster of six years ago was seen as an aberration; it happened to one of the safest and best airlines in Africa. Another major crash so soon afterwards is a veritable disaster for KQ's safety record. The last thing the national carrier would want is to be shown at fault for the Douala crash.
Then we come to Boeing. Aircraft salesmen may not be as ubiquitous in every street corner as used-car dealers. But in their rarefied world, they are just as pushy and aggressive.
The duel for global dominance between Boeing of the United States and European Airbus consortium gets as low down and dirty as can be.
If KQ 507 went down because of a manufacturer's defect or a basic flaw in the model, it will be like a punch in the solar plexus for Boeing. That will mean plenty of lost business.
So both are interested parties, and neither they, nor the authorities in their regions of domicile, can be entrusted with the all-important Black Box.
THE WORLD HAS CERTAINLY SUNK low if the investigation of a major plane accident is to be held hostage to political and commercial considerations.
If Dr Mutua's revelation is to be taken to its logical conclusion, then not even Canada is completely neutral. After all, the land of the maple leaf is joined by an umbilical cord to the US. It is also a member of the US-led Nato alliance.
At the same time, however, it is not just, like us, a mere member of the British Commonwealth, but it is still a British dominion. And the country also has a large population which looks to France rather than Britain.
Well, at least both Boeing and Airbus can trust Canada. But who shall we trust to tell us the unvarnished truth?
The comments in the article above hint at the amount of corruption (and conversely, lack of trust) that exists in that part of the big marble. This seems to go back to the idea that if someone is unwilling to trust you, it is probably prudent to limit your trust in them.
Dr. Mutua made one good point regarding the FDR: Like anything computerised, it can be fiddled with in a lab to produce lies upon request.
All the same, to imagine that Boeing (or Airbus?) would ever be so devious seems to be bordering on paranoid thinking.
You are probably aware of the Helderberg Accident B747 Combi that crashed off the coast of Mauritius almost 20years ago. That ghost is alive and well on another website and you want to read there to what could have, and probably did have happened to the CVR and other tapes. Sorry, mod, not my style to go off the thread.
I would venture that Cameroon, and Kenya too, wants Canada to lead the investigation because the Canadians conducted the Abidjan enquiry, and nothing came out for years. That's probably what they are counting on. After all, the priority here as far as Cameroon CAA, Kenya CAA, KQ and the respective governments is the same. If any egregious mistakes were made they must remain secret, at least for as long as possible. The causes of the Abdijan crash were well obscured, greatly delayed and no official report was ever published. That's what they will be hoping for this time. Can the NTSB be relied upon to keep schtumm? I think the Africans think not. They have this terrible habit of getting "lessons learned" out to all and sundry. Cameroon and Kenya will unite to prevent this.
Rotweilers,Flying pigs, and Fairy dust:
