As a current employee of Beijing Panam i take offense to the comments made by mexicanjack. Beijing Panam IS a safe operation. Lets put things into perspective here; I have worked extensively flying charters in the canadian north and the pressures i encountered there to fly at all costs were far greater than anything i have experienced in china, ie, flying with the ASI inop, VFR flights through the mountains with 500' ceilings, i was even told by the chief pilot when the engine stopped 3 times during the idle check, "well youre not going to be flying around at idle power are you?!" the bottom line is, be it in china or anywhere else in the world, as the pilot, the final descision on wether or no to fly rests solely on YOUR shoulders.
I have never encountered a situation where i was pressured to fly an unsafe aircraft. our fleet is MASSIVE, if something is wrong with an aircraft, we simply take another one and send maintenance to work (slowly i will admit, but work none the less). i dont know a single pilot in this outfit who would knowingly take an unsafe aircraft up for flight training, it simply does not happen.
General aviation is just getting spooled up in china, Beijing Panam is forging the way for this expansion. our general manager, Howard Davenport, a wily texan with a logbook as thick as my...well....its pretty thick, is commited to the safe operation of this company, i have not worked with a finer man in aviation. we do experience pressures from management (none of whom are pilots) to get things done, we are a business after all, but howard would not stand for any unsafe practices and streeses that to all of the employees. the chinese are learning what can and cannot be done, but it is a process, and neither of the two accidents so far were a result of any pressure to fly by chinese management.
although i cannot comment on the first accident as i was not employed when it happened, apparently the midair collision was a result of the student pilot in the DA40 flying a very tight circuit with 2 DA42s in the pattern at night. the DA42 not involved with the collision apparently requested that ATC ask the DA40 to fly a wider circuit, ATC complied but recieved no reply from the student after 3 attempts. ATC then contacted the other DA42 who was infront of both aircraft and just about to turn base of the situation, that is when the collision happened. the 2 aircraft collided at approximately a 45 degree angle, the prop of the da40 taking out the 42s rudder and one of the main gear, in the process wrecking its own prop and causing the engine to cease functioning. the instructor in the 42, a great guy and friend of mine, showed exceptional skill in landing a near uncontrollable aircraft on the grass next to the runway, thus allowing the other aircraft in the pattern and training areas the ability to land as this base only has one runway. it is because of his abilities that both he and his student were able to walk away without a scratch, even though the aircraft was written off. the student in the 40, a newly minted commercial pilot, broke his arm in the impact, yet still managed to land a heavily damaged aircraft on a road at night, a feat that demands respect even from seasoned pilots, and is a testament to the level of training the students recieve within this company. true, this aircraft was written off as well, but the student walked away wich is all that matters. both pilots should be commended for the skill that they demonstarted in this situation and it is a result of this skill that this accident did not have a far more trajic outcome. this is not the official story, but what has been filtered down to us from the other pilots at this particular training base.
no matter where you are in the world there will be accidents when doing flight training, one only has to log onto the NTSB or TC website to find a long list of them, to insinuate that beijing panam and the pilots who work there are unsafe is insulting both to me and all the other employees of this company as we all strive to make our operation the safest it can be. although i will agree with mexicanjacks assesment of chinese ATC and accident response, i feel that his acusations towards myself and the company i work for are tottaly unwarrented.