Was holding at O1 when he landed. Fairly strong X/W 20KTS on the ATIS, RWY Damp. Touch down was on the CL and watched him exit the RWY at a shallow angle to the right at about 100Kts.
The Radio Xmit when the aircraft came to a stop was that they had lost nose wheel steering. Didn’t see any sign of asymmetric braking. Glad it wasn’t any worst and no one hurt. :ok:

Feel sorry for the crew, but a good reminder to us all of the potential perils a strong X/W and wet rwy.

Sorry 23 Metro, but seeing a foreign 9L Lek rego, I naturally assumed the crew would also be foreign. Being a true blue aussi on aussi day, I was only being patriotic towards our jobs. All I can say is job well done in difficult circumstances.

Anyone ever chased rabbits in tugs? Go on, confess.:p

Ummm - well - errr :O

We did kinda do that on the Honda 3 wheel atv we had at EW DPO - also used to chase the fireys in their Honda Odyssey up and down the sand dunes on Morelands beach. ( That is where it decided it no longer needed a boom and flashing amber light!) They were and still are hares at DPO, and flourishing since we no longer have fireys with weapons that never existed to thin them.

Best fun were the wheelchair races from Streddies hangar up to bomb scare corner.

Ingredients:

1 wheelchair
25+ knots out of the west
1 umbrella
1 Ansett trafficy similarly equipped
Little regard for own safety.

Drop footplates - pop brolly and pray!!

It was a little hard when you had a departure lounge with early checkins to explain why 2 dudes had just gone screaming past in wheelchairs pulling around 30kph. Also hard to explain why we were always ordering new wheels.

Classic fun. Try it if you can get away with it.

Warning: The amount of pain experienced on stopping is directly proportional to your terminal velocity and inability to control a wheelchair on grass on the overrun.

Best all

EWL

wind em up in reverse, whack em into drive! hang on as the nose points skyward and it drags the tow point at the rear on the ground for a good 50 ft!

or so ive heard!:}

I am sure CASA will be very interested in this little incident.
May be they should talk to the UK CAA about this operator.

Post from African Aviation forum

They might start at the AOC paper work

Was that for us?
I've only made a few posts so I don't feel the need to order a Personal Title and help support PPRuNe
posted 31st August 2004 01:07
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Planes for mercenaries fly through Malta
Planes for mercenaries fly through Malta, reveals S. African newspaper
By Malta Media News
Aug 27, 2004, 08:43

Sierra Leone police are investigating four airlines registered in the
west African state since 2002 that have never flown there, amid
concerns they are fronts for terror groups such as al-Qaeda. Flight
records examined by police show that the airlines favoured Middle
Eastern destinations, such as Jordan and Lebanon. Flight enthusiasts
monitoring the sales of airplanes have posted photos on various
websites of Air Leone planes in destinations such as Malta.

www.sundaytimes.co.za reported that a British national known as Paddy
McKay registered Star Air, Air Universal, Heavy-Lift Cargo and Air
Leone in 2002, shortly after the decade of civil war ended in Sierra
Leone, Fodie Daboh, chief superintendent of the crime investigations
department of the national police, told AFP by telephone from
Freetown.

"After the war we were looking around everywhere for investors,
hoping to start airlines coming here and help to rebuild the
country," said Daboh. "When he came, nobody refused."

Ranked at the bottom of the UN Human Development Index, post-conflict
Sierra Leone embodies the type of failed state that is most
attractive to groups such as al-Qaeda, where despite the presence of
thousands of UN peacekeepers it is relatively easy to engage in
clandestine activities.

"We are worried that these airlines are fronts for al-Qaeda - that is
the bottom line," said Daboh, adding that police would call on
Interpol in coming days to assist the investigation.

"They are involved in al-Qaeda business or al-Qaeda issues and are
flying our flag - what if they are used in terrorist activities?"
said Daboh. "We will be blamed and then blacklisted."

McKay paid 5,000 dollars (4,100 euros) for each of the airline
registration certificates, telling civil aviation officials he was
keen to start flights between Freetown and other destinations, the
African Sunday Times reported.

"They posed as genuine business people when they came to Sierra Leone
to register their airlines and were issued with certificates," said
John Bongor, the acting director of civil aviation, who with four of
his colleagues has been detained as part of the investigation since
the weekend.

"But they never once flew in or out of Sierra Leone," said Daboh.

None of the airlines have offices or staff in Freetown, and the
contact addresses given by McKay were fake, said Daboh.

Police have thus far been unsuccessful in tracking McKay down,
although an agent working in Freetown on his behalf has co-operated
with the investigation.

British Transport Minister Tony McNulty in January had banned Star
Air and Air Universal from flying in or out of Britain, but gave no
reason for including the companies on an international blacklist.

"Up to July this year they did not show up so I then issued a notice
to them, suspending their licenses," added Bongor. "I have now
cancelled their operation certificates but in spite of this, I have
information that they are still flying."

A watchdog group known as the Association for a Clean Ostend, which
monitors the use of the Netherlands' Ostend Airport for arms and
drugs smuggling, has reported that Air Leone was once known as Ibis
Air transport, an airline operated by Executive Outcomes and its
sister company Sandline International.

Mercenaries from the South Africa-based Executive Outcomes, who
fought on the side of the beleaguered national army, were considered
crucial to ending Sierra Leone's civil war.

The airlines are not the only potential link between Sierra Leone and
the terror network of Osama bin Laden.

According to a recently leaked document from the UN-backed war crimes
court in the west African state, known high-level al-Qaeda operatives
dealt in Sierra Leonean diamonds, using next door Liberia as a
conduit.

The evidence provided by the court, however, was reviewed and
rejected by the US commission investigating the September 11 attacks
on the United States as not "substantiated".

(Source: www.sundaytimes.co.za)

Was that for us?

is it true that CASA have been letting this heavylift mob (foreign AOC & foreign aircraft) compete directly with local operators on domestic routes?

i thought that was frowned upon by ICAO!

Funny anyone mentioned a foreign AOC? Thats what I was talking about on Aussi day. But who gives a rats A anyway? Our jobs going to overseas operators and everyone stands around with their hands in their pockets.

Heavylift’s bread and butter is charter work for the Australian government to Pacific nations. It is not permitted to operate domestically but when it suits the main players, it does. The 727, crewed by locals, is used domestically by AAE to back up its own 727s. The Belslow is crewed by refugees from England, as you would expect.

As regards the foreign AOC, they are operating two great old machines, so I suppose we could cut them a bit of slack. Besides, it gladdens my heart to see someone in a position where they can tell the local regulator to stick their regulations up where the sun don’t shine.
However, it’s a double-edged sword. It gives me the ****s when CASA can give me a hard time for a life vest that is two days past its TX date but others can operate with a dodgy AOC.

But they should survive this incident. They do have some heavyweight backers with their connection to Polar Air whose major client is the US government.

One VERY good thing about the 727-100.

The sound of JT8D-7s. I hope they aren't hushkitted so everyone can enjoy.

Best all

EWL

They no longer service Polar or Atlas, in fact some ill feelings there, although I am told a family member still works at Prestwick hanger for Polar and is how they sourced the Belfast, doubtful there is any connection apart from livery to the Heavylift UK Company.
Heavylift Australia aka South Pacific Ground Handling aka South Pacific Airmotive
Here’s a couple of interesting links
http://www.atsb.gov.au/aviation/occu...ail.cfm?ID=333
Or try Google, South Pacific Airmotive
Perhaps this is why CASA are a little interested?
Here is their new venture
www.iasc.gov.au/iasccurr.aspx