PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Jet goes down on its way to Medellin, Colombia
Old 7th Dec 2016, 14:17
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jess15
 
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Originally Posted by RAT 5

And there I was hoping that Erwin might be sitting in the flight deck and be privy to the fuel discussions and shed some valuable light on the chain of events. APU's tend to be faulty if they have no fuel to start up with. Does he think the APU could have replaced the engines?
^ snipped

Acc to Tumiri's latest newspaper interview ( surprised he's still not been interviewed by the investigating team) , he says he flew with LaMia only 3 times previously, first flight with them being in August. He qualified in 2015 and "I belong to a mechanics company in Cochabamba called Bacams."
Also he qualified as a private pilot in 2016.

(Maybe FA Suarez is not speaking to the press because she's more astute, Tumiri keeps changing his account, so best taken with a pinch of salt. )

some bad translations from the links:
About the fatal accident, Tumiri reiterated his responsibility in this event, is as a crew member, he considers that they lacked leadership. "That leader should coordinate with all team members. That should be the responsibility of the pilot. I was commissioned to write down details, like what time we are taking off, landing, if there was hydraulic, water flow, if there was gasoline, those details ".
He said that he filled up to the max with fuel and that it should make a stop at Cobija to re-fuel, but at the time of departing the pilot said we'd go straight to Medellin. "If the problem had been fuel, was due to the fact that we charge in Cobija, I did check the gas to Cobija, but from when I said they would go straight to Medellin," he recalled.
However, Tumiri does not believe the accident was due to lack of gasoline or an electrical problem, but rather a failure, "a generator that goes in the back of the plane, called the APU, which already not enter gasoline and did not generate more electricity. On the other hand, he said the pilot only mentioned that the crew prepare for landing and it was not until the stewardess told him something was wrong, he was concerned. "The pilot only mentioned that we prepare for landing, we were not alarmed because the decline we did was the type of movement to land. There was no panic or anything. The only detail was that the stewardess told me to fasten well, then something happened."
In the second link, he says that, after departure, it was engineer Angel Lugo who informed him they were now not re-fuelling at Cobija.
The journalist's questions in italics, also at that link is the later description of the crash and moments leading up to it.

What was your role?
Check that the aircraft is well, it is all quiet, everything is airworthy. That's my job, refuelling, checking the oil, under the rules we have and the plane's manual.

According to the flight plan too?
The flight plan is separate from that, the dispatcher is responsible.

Was it the first time that fuel may have been lacking?

I'm not so sure it's the fuel. I could tell you yes, but we must still wait investigations . Now it is said to be fuel issue and could also say that, but I'm not so sure.

You, as a mechanic, you know how much fuel the plane was carrying?
I did know.

In this case, for the flight to Medellin?
I filled all fuel to full, well overdone.

That was enough to get to the destination?
I coordinate that with the dispatcher. If the dispatcher tells me x many liters, or full, I do it. In this case I said it's 'fulee' and I did. Then I told YPFB (Bolivian Fiscal Oilfields) to make an invoice to Cobija. But during the flight, Angel flight engineer, told me the plane will no longer go to Cobija, but up to Medellin.
The invoice was to resupply at Cobija?
Yes. But it was night and all that, they knew that the Cobija airport does not work at night.

Were you surprised that no refuelling is done in Cobija? Did not it generate an alert?
Yes, but they are responsible for their own administration, their own money. Part from the head of them coming orders. I have to fulfill. My role is to check that the plane is in good condition and is filled with everything that has to be filled: lubricants, oils, fuels.

Tumiri hace nuevas revelaciones y funcionaria busca asilo: LaMia | Diario Correo del Sur: Noticias de Sucre, Bolivia y el Mundo

?Cuando se prendieron las luces de emergencia Ximena presintió que algo pasaba? | Noticias de Bolivia y el Mundo - EL DEBER

On engineer Angel Lugo who died - he'd worked for LaMia for 2 years. "Lugo had already spent 5 years in the area Avionics Engineer and Technical experience encompassed maintenance planning and Engineering Technical Support."
Habla el primo de Ángel Lugo, el técnico aeronáutico venezolano que murió en la tragedia de Chapecoense

Last edited by jess15; 7th Dec 2016 at 15:15. Reason: typo
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