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Shintaro9
17th Jul 2001, 18:41
Bought the papers this afternoon, and it's not the kind of news I like. From the papers

Quote:

Scare at airport as MAS plane with 146 aboard skids on takeoff

KOTA BARU, Mon. — A Malaysia Airlines plane to Subang skidded from the taxi-way before takeoff during a thunderstorm at the Sultan Ismail Petra Airport in Pengkalan Chepa yesterday.

Airport manager Ahmad Ramli Mahmood said the incident occurred at 7.52pm as the plane, flight MH 1405, with 146 passengers on board, was leaving the apron to the runway for takeoff.

The passengers were boarded on an additional flight MH 5041 which arrived at the airport at 12.50pm and left at 1.35am today.

Ahmad Ramli said the incident however did not affect operations at the airport although the apron had to be closed. It also did not affect other flights from coming to and leaving the airport, although there were slight delays.

“With the closure of the airport apron, boarding and disembarking of passengers were done on the runway,” he said, adding that two air-conditioned buses were used to transport the passengers between the runway and the airport terminal, about half-a-kilometre distance.

Ahmad Ramli said efforts were made to tow the plane with the assistance of the relevant parties including Malaysia Airlines, Malaysia Airports Sdn Bhd and the Department of Civil Aviation.

“We managed to tow the plane to Bay No 1 at 12.05pm,” he said, adding that the airport apron was reopened at 12.3lpm today.

Unquote:

Hmm..seems when we have a change of management, a mishap occurs. Remember when TR took over, we had Tawau.

Pilot's an expat holding from the Gulf holding Jordanian papers, ironically shares the same name as CP Safety. Hope this is a rare incident. We have to do everything we can to avoid this. MAS cannot afford any incident or for that matter an accident.

Your comments on this episode...

Marcellus Wallace
18th Jul 2001, 08:29
I think the papers got the spelling of the Commander's name wrong. It sounds something like the above but not exactly.

Some of these guys work under duress. Hear any of them refuse flights/ATP's/AFFF? I am quite certain an incident like this attracts an inquiry. Would be interesting to find out the crews 28 day and 365 day flying hours.

Shintaro9
18th Jul 2001, 11:15
This incident's a definite inquiry as there was damage to the aircraft.

And if the inquiry discovers that the pilot's over the limit, then MAS and the pilot concerned is in DS. If this was in the States, the airline would be fined heavily and the pilot would have received a citation.
So far for all the incidents that we've had, we've never been fined by the our DCA.

As for ATPs and AFFFs..well they're very hard to refuse simply because when the Captain is offered it, it's already been established by flt ops, engineering QA and DCA Airworthiness that it is safe and legal to do so. In some cases even the manufacturers are consulted. Off course the Captain can refuse, but when he does so, he jolly well needs a good reason to do so. And he has to explain cos his refusal normally cost the company. So far I have not refused the many ATPs that I have been offered. I've accepted them after I've established that it's safe, legal and that I can carry out the mission without putting myself under extra duress. Why extra duress? Because you're already under some form of duress whilst working in MAS.

This incident looks clear cut to me. Pilot error - human factor, weather a factor. They'll slap his wrist, naughty boy..and send him back to the sim, practise taxi and takeoff in TS and heavy RASH.

I dont think any company would force their pilot to take off in a TS. Decision making issue? Maybe..let's see what the inquiry reveals. In the mean time dont get into one.

Regards..Shintaro :cool:

Slasher
19th Jul 2001, 08:59
TO in TS? Tell me about it! Its a fact of life here in the Nam monsoon period. The problem is determining when should a TO be conducted during a tropical TS, and when is it prudant to wait until it passes.
Experience has taught me the wind to be the deciding factor. If its blowing like hell with an unusualy cool TAT it means a very heavey downdraught from some rediculusley high altitude which means its a big bloodey mother of a cell. Expect large windshifts during TO as the passage of the cell progresses, and windshear during the 2nd and 3rd segments.
Ive read conflicting reports in the cyberpapers. Did he abort and run off the runway or got blown off during taxy for line-up? Ive used KotaBaru as an alternate for Sai Gon on occasions (when there was still fuel there) and I know that taxy-way can be a real bitch in heavey rain at night.

Zorton
19th Jul 2001, 11:33
Hello all,

I'm new here but have been following this for a while now. Anyway, I was in Kota Bahru the morning after. He was actually blown off the taxiway on departure. The right main bogie was in the mud and the No 2 engine cowling was just about touching the mud too.
They towed it out with a huge tow truck (I don't know where they attached it to) on the afternoon of the 16th. Reg: 9M-MMV.

tigerwood
19th Jul 2001, 13:28
It's interesting. Did you mentioned thunderstorm? or was it sand storm? or desert storm? :eek:

tigerwood
19th Jul 2001, 13:33
well, after all what had happened, it's not the pilots' error. it's the runway fault. last time someone landed short(KBR) and now veer off the runway. maybe need to lenghten and widening the KBR runway. that's the answer, another project and some allocation i$ required.

Shintaro9
19th Jul 2001, 13:46
When I got checked out, Kota Bahru was the airfield I flew to on my first solo. It was late night, in heavy rain, in the middle of the monsoon and this was in a -200. Did a non precision approach and landed. My first thought after landing..I should have been a gynae.. :D

Kota Bahru, Alor Setar and Trengganu are to the airfields to watch out for whilst operating in PM.

I remember 2 incidents in KBR, one after landing rw 28 late at night in heavy haze, as the a/c was turning into the apron, she overshot the taxiway and got the RH main gear bogged in the mud. Pilot said apron lighting blinded him temporarily. A few years later, off a non precision app, late at night in moderate rain, a 737 landed some 200 feet short of the rw. A/c bounced and then landed again on rw. Pilot didnt even know he'd landed short. :o

Need to be very careful when operating into these airfields. Take care..

Shintaro