Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
The Danish newspaper, Berlingske Tidene, has reported that it has received information about the incident on the 27th October 2007 at Copenhagen Airport where a DHC-8 400 aircraft belonging to SAS had a main gear collapse on landing.
The subsequent investigation by the Danish authorities (SLV) placed responsibility for the gear failure at the door of the manufacturer, Bombardier, who have not accepted the blame. The investigation found a rubber O-ring, foreign to the system, in the gear.
The head of the SLV office in Copenhagen, Peter Udsen, apparently wrote several times to his superiors that in his opinion the cause of the incident was that the SAS mechanics had used an unapproved procedure when changing two valves in the gear system.
Apparently, SLV`s technical director, Per Veingberg, replied to Udsen that they were not interested in his personal opinion in the matter and thereafter kept the correspondence with Udsen secret. Udsen has since left the SLV`s employ.
The contribution of the SAS mechanics to the incident was not included in the accident report because, according to Veingberg, SAS does everything by the book.
The accident inspector responsible, Kurt Færch Madsen, denies that the mechanics at SAS can have made a mistake but thinks that the rules regarding changing the valves were perhaps unclear.
SAS`s communications director says that they have followed all the rules exactly.
The final report is expected this Summer, ass-covering operations have already begun.
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