Merged: Senate Inquiry

[Sarcs]

MMSM & FMSM: More meat on the bureau tall tale bones.

Damn if he hasn't heard me??

Well it appears the MSM has taken up the ATsB ATR essay challenge, starting with SC (MMSM) with his midnight deadline article...:

Virgin defends safety after turboprop woes

VIRGIN Australia has defended its safety protocols after a regional turboprop aircraft flew for 13 sectors after an inspection by engineers failed to detect significant damage to its tail section.

An Australian Transport Safety Bureau report released this week showed the ATR 72 was damaged during an incident on February 20 but was not grounded until February 25.

The manufacturer subsequently recommended replacing the plane’s horizontal stabiliser, elevators and vertical stabiliser.

Virgin said this week that safety was its top priority and it had “strong protocols in place to *ensure the safety of our operations is maintained to the highest standard”.

“While this is an isolated issue, we are working with the ATSB, the aircraft manufacturer and our maintenance provider to identify what has occurred,’’ it said.

The plane began flying abnormally on approach to Sydney on February 20 and the incident was serious enough to injure a senior cabin crew member, prompt the pilots to request an ambulance and make a PAN call, a level below a full-blown emergency.

The ATSB was advised initially of a turbulence-related event and began an investigation because of the injuries to the flight attendant.

Two aircraft engineers from Virgin’s contract maintenance operator were told that the pilots were not sure what had happened but the aircraft’s pitch controls had disconnected and there had been a possible overspeed, where the aircraft’s airspeed exceeds safe working limits.

The engineers established that the plane had been subject to a force of 3.34 times the force of gravity and exceeded the acceptable weight limit for the aircraft.

It was removed from service to be inspected and the two engineers brought in a third colleague to continue the inspection overnight.

The third engineer was led to understand that a turbulence inspection had been requested after the pitch controls had disconnected in moderate turbulence.

He also understood that one of the duty engineers had done quite a detailed walk-around of the aircraft in daylight and found no signs of defects.

The manufacturer specified in this case a general visual inspection of the fuselage, stabilisers and wings, with more detailed inspections if any anomalies were found, as well as a more detailed inspection of the wing attachment fittings.

The third engineer borrowed a nearby stand and inspected the upper surface of the wing, rear fuse*lage and tail by torchlight before finishing work and returning the next morning.

“No defects were identified from any of the inspections and the aircraft was returned to service the next day,’’ the ATSB said.

The issue re-emerged on a Sydney-Albury flight on February 25 when the aircraft passed close to a flock of birds. While there were no indications that a bird had struck the aircraft, its pitch trim system fluctuated abnormally.

“The captain conducted a walk-around inspection with an expectation of bird damage to the left side of the aircraft,’’ the ATSB said. “The only abnormality found was a deformity to a fairing at the top leading edge of the vertical stabiliser, which might have been the result of a birdstrike. The captain advised maintenance watch, who dispatched an engineer to inspect the aircraft.’’

That engineer used scissor lift equipment to inspect the tailplane and confirmed that the fairing might have been damaged by a bird but that there was also significant structural damage on top of the tailplane. The aircraft was grounded and the ATSB began investigating.

Its initial examination of recorded data found that both the first officer and captain initially pulled on the control column but shortly afterwards, as the vertical load factor was increasing through 1.8G, the first officer began to push the control column.

“The differential force on the control column that resulted from the captain and first officer applying an opposing force exceeded the differential force required to generate a pitch disconnect,’’ the report said. “Each pilot was then controlling the elevator on their side of the aircraft in opposite directions for a brief period before the first officer released his control column.’’

Damage included broken carbon components, cracked joint sealant, a deformation in and around the area where the horizontal stabiliser attaches to the vertical stabiliser and some minor damage to the rudder.

“The damage was assessed as being consistent with an overstress condition. Subject to further assessment and non-destructive testing, the aircraft manufacturer recommended replacement of the horizontal stabiliser, elevators, and vertical stabiliser,’’ the report said.

The investigation continues.

IOS Mark: 8/10 Comment: Very well PC'd, needs work on the sensational factor (refer to GT for future guidance), consider a more grabbing headline next time..

The other mob actually beat the deadline, here is their effort:

Virgin plane kept flying for five days with 'significant structural damage'

Virgin Australia Regional Airlines operated one of its turboprops on 13 sectors after an incident that the airline later suspected might have caused "significant structural damage" to the tailplane, says an initial report from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

The 68-seat ATR-72 aircraft, registered as VH-FVR, has been grounded in Albury for more than three months awaiting replacement of the horizontal stabiliser, elevator and vertical stabiliser, which provide stability and control to the aircraft.

The grounding came five days after an initial incident on February 20, in which pilots reported moderate turbulence as they approached landing on a flight from Canberra to Sydney.

The ATSB said the pilots advised the engineers that the pitch controls had disconnected, with a possible overspeed. From the onboard equipment, the engineers were able to establish there had not been an overspeed, but that a vertical load factor of 3.34 gravity force was recorded that exceeded the acceptable limit for the aircraft weight.

A flight attendant broke her leg during the incident, and the ATSB report said an engineer had inspected the upper surface of the wing, the rear fuselage and the tail by torchlight that evening for signs of damage, but had not identified any defects and the plane was returned to service the next morning.

The aircraft was then operated for a further 13 sectors over the following days, including a final passenger flight from Sydney to Albury on February 25. The ATSB said on descent to Albury, the aircraft passed close to birds, which alerted the captain to a possibility of a birdstrike.

"There were no indications that a bird had struck the aircraft, but on the ground, the aircraft's pitch trim fluctuated abnormally," the report said.
The captain alerted the maintenance team to a deformity in the vertical stabiliser which may have been a result of a birdstrike and an engineer was dispatched to inspect the aircraft.

The ATSB said the engineer used scissor-lift equipment to inspect the tailplane and found there was "significant structural damage" on top of the tailplane. The aircraft was grounded for repairs and the ATSB was advised of the situation.

"Later information from the operator suggested that the damage to the tailplane might have been a result of the occurrence involving [the aircraft] on February 20," the ATSB said.

The ATSB interviewed the pilots and engineers and inspected the damaged aircraft at Albury. A final report on the investigation is not due until February next year.

In response to the initial ATSB report, Virgin issued a statement saying the safety of its guests, crew and aircraft was its number one priority as an airline and there were strong protocols in place to ensure the safety of its operations were maintained to the highest standard.

"While this is an isolated issue, we are working with the ATSB, the aircraft manufacturer and our maintenance provider to identify what has occurred," Virgin said. "As the investigation is ongoing, it would be inappropriate for us to comment in any further detail at this stage."

The airline paused growth in its ATR fleet this year, having left an aircraft delivered last September on the ground amid weak demand and talks with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority about improving its procedures after the integration of Perth-based Skywest into its regional arm.

However, Virgin regional head Merren McArthur said this month that she expected the aircraft grounded at Albury to be repaired within a month or so, and for the other grounded aircraft to join the flying fleet within a similar time.

Virgin has deferred the delivery of six more ATR aircraft and Ms McArthur said the timetable would depend on market demand.

IOS Mark: 9/10 Comment: PC factor needs work but acceptable. Headline is excellent but suggest it is a tad light on for SF (sensational factor). Top marks for beating the deadline...


Associate Professor for IOS Affairs...Sarcs