‘Over speed’ may have caused crash
By GEOFFREY THOMAS
Aviation Editor
The West.com.au
Investigators are focusing on possible component failure for the loss of both engines on the Dash 8-102 which crashed while approaching Madang on October 13, killing 28 passengers.
The Airlines PNG plane was on a flight from Lae to Madang with 32 passengers and crew and there were only four survivors including the Australian captain and New Zealand first officer.
According to a source in Australia, investigators are looking at the possibility that the plane’s propellers went into an over-speed condition, causing the engines to fail, because of an alleged failure of a restricting gate for the throttles when they are put into idle. The engines apparently failed soon after the pilots started their descent.
According to the source there was a previous similar failure in 2006 involving Wideroe Airline in Norway, although only one engine stopped delivering power.
Captain Bill Spencer (64), who was flying the Airlines PNG plane, was one of the airline’s most experienced pilots, with 35 years in New Guinea and 18,000 hours flying experience, while First Officer Campbell Wagstaff had more than 2500 hours flying experience.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has examined the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder and has apparently found that there were no maintenance issues with the plane and determined that weather was not a factor. The ATSB has also found no fault with the pilots.
The mechanical or component failure has been alluded to by New Guinea’s first secretary to the Minister for Civil Aviation, Levai Wama.
“Based on the information that the pilot gave to the towers which was there’s smoke coming out of the engines and we’re running out of power doing a forced landing, that’s what they said, which resulted in it crash landing,” Mr Wama said.
However the fact that both engines failed points to the over-speed theory.
Comment is being sought from Bombardier the manufacturer of the plane.
Airlines PNG declined to comment.