AMSA - AeroRescue Dornier 328 fleet a "mechanical nightmare"
From The Australian:
Rescue fleet a 'mechanical nightmare'
Gary Hughes | January 21, 2008
AUSTRALIA'S new multi-million-dollar fleet of search-and-rescue aircraft has been plagued by mechanical problems, often leaving planes unable to respond to emergencies and forcing authorities to call on private aviators to provide urgent help.
Australian Transport Safety Bureau records show the $200million fleet of five twin-engined Dornier 328-100 turbo props was involved in half a dozenmid-air mechanical incidents last year, including four engine failures.
In another incident, one of the Dorniers had to land immediately after taking off from Perth airport after smoke was seen coming out of the aircraft's right side.
The hi-tech Dorniers - hailed by the Howard government as representing a new era in Australia's lifesaving services when the first was commissioned two years ago - have also suffered mechanical problems on the ground, leaving them unable to respond to emergencies.
On New Year's Day, a Dornier based in Perth was grounded with a mechanical failure and unable to respond to an emergency call.
Another aircraft had to be chartered to take its place. The Dorniers, which are equipped with the latest radar, night-search equipment and satellite technology, now need modifications to their doors that require each of the five to be withdrawn in turn from service.
The upgrade will leave only four aircraft available during the next six months to take part in operations ranging from sea rescues to bush searches and efforts to locate missing planes.
There are also concerns that there is not a Dornier based in NSW, resulting in lengthy response times to emergencies, with search aircraft being sent from Melbourne or Brisbane. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which operates the five planes, has admitted to "some initial technical issues" with the aircraft,which came into service between October 2005 and February last year.
AMSA said in its annual report, released in September, that the problems had "some impact on aircraft availability".
But it claimed the problems had been "expeditiously resolved" and the aircraft were now operating "within expectations".
Despite the continuing problems, the federal Government has backed the fleet. A spokesman for Transport Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday said: "We are unaware of any problems, and these aircraft are fulfilling contractual arrangements that have been made with the maritime safety authority."
An AMSA spokeswoman told The Australian the Dorniers were "running as normal".
"There are ongoing maintenance issues for all aircraft, so they are not online all the time," she said. "Sometimes they are off having scheduled servicing or training. There's always a back-up tasking (of another charter aircraft) if the Dorniers are unserviceable."
But aviation industry sources have told The Australian that the AMSA's Dorniers have experienced far more mechanical problems than normal, leaving them grounded and "off line" for long periods.
One source said there were "shortcomings" with the Dornier 328s and they were not the best choice of aircraft for the type ofwork for which they were being used.
Another described the Dornier as a "mechanical nightmare".
The Howard government awarded contracts worth $196.5million to AeroRescue Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of the Paspaley Group, in 2005 to provide and fly the five Dorniers.
Prior to creating the dedicated fleet, search-and-rescue authorities relied on independent contractors around the country to help with rescue efforts, and AMSA was credited with co-ordinating the rescue of thousands of people.
The Dorniers are not the first major government purchase to be plagued by problems. The multi-billion-dollar Collins-class submarines are the most notorious to suffer serious teething problems. And there are ongoing dramas with Australia's proposed new military aircraft, the $15.5 billion Joint Strike Fighter.
The Dorniers were purchased second-hand from overseas operators and fitted with a range of hi-tech equipment, including infra-red imaging radar to search at night and satellite communications.
The Coalition government said the Dorniers, which are based in Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin and Perth, would be on 24-hour standby and "ready to fly to an emergency within 30 minutes".
The AeroRescue fleet replaced three previous aircraft charter companies that had provided dedicated twin-engined search aircraft. Some of those companies still provide back-up aircraft when the Dorniers are grounded.
There are concerns within the aviation industry about the effectiveness of the Dorniers.
In one incident involving a missing aircraft in southern NSW last year, a Dornier flown in from interstate spent all night searching unsuccessfully. A local search aircraft found the missing light plane and the bodies of the pilot and passenger within 30 minutes the following morning.
Australian Transport Safety Bureau records show the Dorniers were involved in 17 reported incidents last year. Eleven of the incidents involved safety issues, such as pilots turning on to the wrong course or entering restricted airspace without clearance.
The Paspaley Group did not respond to a request for comment.
Additional reporting: Richard Kerbaj
Regards,
David