Cowlings again.......
CIRCUITB Yr post #183.....
Nope....wasn't me who said that, it was GAZIN, above.
The incident of cowling failure that I remarked on at the top of page 9 resulted from a manufacturing fault. I haven't read the content of my 707 ops manuals in any depth since consigning them to the far reaches of my loft in 1980. Documents from the enquiry might even co-exist, so I will enlarge on my initial sentence above by saying that to the best of my recollection the finding was that one (only) of those over-centre lever type locking devices was mis-aligned at manufacture. Assuming that the failed cowlings were the original pair as supplied new to Airlift International, the inference was metal fatigue/distress over the period of time. The fault was assessed as not observable on a standard walk round pre-flight check.
As per schedule, we returned to base on a passenger service a couple of days after the freighter to be informed that a verdict of 'Pod Scrape' had been handed down from a high placed non-aircrew source that perhaps it's tactful not to identify - even if I could remember all this time later. Now, the Captain who was a US citizen on contract, and both engineers failed to see much amusement at this pronouncement, and without hesitation borrowed/stole/impounded the cowlings for scientific examination.
The independant test findings resulted in our being personally handed letters of mild commendation, a cup of tea, and probably a biscuit.
Only a cynic would wonder if pilot handling errors attract faster insurance settlements. I remember that possibility being raised at the time, but not by anyone with specific knowledge of our company.
I never worked for Dan Air, but was closely involved with the aftermath of the Lusaka tragedy. To the best of my recollection, the aircraft had been on check in the BCal hangar at LGW not long before the incident. The criticisms did not involve anything to do with the stabilizer, but there were a couple of things that should have been fixed before Dan Air operated it.
Had the accident first happened to one of the passenger versons of similar vintage then in operation, long-term media and public reaction would have been markedly different. In the case of both the Lusaka and the recent Sharja incident, it's just so sad that the relatively low number of victims only briefly interest the media and mask the public's interest in the truly shocking causes of structural failure.
Last edited by ONE GREEN AND HOPING; 21st Nov 2009 at 21:45.