SAR S-92 Missing Ireland
So to put it back on thread post crash March 2017 the lessons aren’t being learned even before the AAIU report is published, however damning it may turn out to be.
If there’s a delay in training what’s the reason for it? Have they worked out that the provider is not all it’s been cracked up to be? Or are there more technical issues? Maybe the rumoured imminent publishing of the AAIB report has something to do with it. Who’s taking the fall etc. Wonder how crews will react to it.
Sunday Times Irish addition reporting that fatigue , poor management safety culture ,chart errors and dysfunctional over sight by the Irish Aviation Authority all contributed to the crash . Article is in the front page with expanded coverage in page 21.
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Reform is still needed nearly three years after Rescue 116 crash, warns pilots' group
THE FACTORS THAT led to a fatal helicopter crash off the Mayo coast in 2017 still exist, an organisation representing pilots in Ireland has claimed.
The Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association said it is concerned an accident could happen again if the causes contributing to the crash are not comprehensively addressed.
Four members of the Irish Coast Guard air crew died in the Rescue 116 crash in March 2017.
Captain Dara Fitzpatrick, 45, Captain Mark Duffy, 51, and winchmen Paul Ormsby, 53, and Ciaran Smith, 38, all died when their Sikorsky S-92 helicopter crashed into Blackrock island off the coast of Mayo.
It is understood that inaccurate charts and risk of fatigue were among some of the contributing factors in the tragic crash.
The Air Accident Investigation Unit is due to publish a report in the coming months.
The pilot union Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association has urged the Irish Government to make changes to the state regulator, the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA).
Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association president Captain Evan Cullen claimed there are serious issues with the corporate structure of the IAA.
“The IAA is an outlier in terms of its corporate structure,” he said.
“One of the things that makes it unique is that it has the safety regulatory function. But it also has a commercial agenda under its air navigation service provider function.
“In all other western jurisdictions those two are absolutely separate.
“In Ireland we’ve combined the two, so therefore the organisation has its safety mandate as a regulatory oversight and it also makes money out of the same entities that it tries to regulate.
“Certainly there’s a paradox and that’s not sustainable.”
He said that the IAA is not subject to any ombudsman, nor the Auditor General and the group is not subject to respond to requests under the Freedom of Information Act.
He added that the reasons behind the crash “are still out there”.
Capt Cullen said the organisation has raised concerns about the regulator on many occasions since 2003.
“Everything from flight time limitations to tiredness, and obviously the navigational inaccuracies, and security issues which are separate to safety,” he added.
Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association has raised many issues with the IAA in letters seen by the PA news agency.
“The issues raised are quite diverse and what’s been obvious over the years is that the IAA are judging the concerns raised by the source, rather than the actual subject,” Capt Cullen added.
“One of the things that will come out which has already been highlighted in the interim report is that the maps and charts are inaccurate, which was a contributing factor to the accident.
“Other pilots have reported that there were inaccuracies in the maps.
“There were two reports, in 2013 and 2015, that stated the maps were inaccurate and nothing was done about it.”
He has called for the Government to separate the safety regulatory department from the commercial part of the IAA.
Capt Cullen also said that pilots have expressed dissatisfaction in the way the IAA receives and investigates pilots’ complaints.
“Pilots have said they’ve made fatigue reports that have not been acted on and they made technical reports that have not been acted on,” he also claimed.
He said that many pilots who have flagged issues are not made aware if the issue has been investigated or whether it has been addressed.
It also emerged that the Department of Transport failed to appoint an individual to examine the safety and technical performance of the IAA for a long period.
“We discovered that this process had not been done between 2004 and 2014. Even though the law says it has to be done every three years,” he added.
The IAA and Department of Transport did not respond to requests for comment.
The Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association said it is concerned an accident could happen again if the causes contributing to the crash are not comprehensively addressed.
Four members of the Irish Coast Guard air crew died in the Rescue 116 crash in March 2017.
Captain Dara Fitzpatrick, 45, Captain Mark Duffy, 51, and winchmen Paul Ormsby, 53, and Ciaran Smith, 38, all died when their Sikorsky S-92 helicopter crashed into Blackrock island off the coast of Mayo.
It is understood that inaccurate charts and risk of fatigue were among some of the contributing factors in the tragic crash.
The Air Accident Investigation Unit is due to publish a report in the coming months.
The pilot union Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association has urged the Irish Government to make changes to the state regulator, the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA).
Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association president Captain Evan Cullen claimed there are serious issues with the corporate structure of the IAA.
“The IAA is an outlier in terms of its corporate structure,” he said.
“One of the things that makes it unique is that it has the safety regulatory function. But it also has a commercial agenda under its air navigation service provider function.
“In all other western jurisdictions those two are absolutely separate.
“In Ireland we’ve combined the two, so therefore the organisation has its safety mandate as a regulatory oversight and it also makes money out of the same entities that it tries to regulate.
“Certainly there’s a paradox and that’s not sustainable.”
He said that the IAA is not subject to any ombudsman, nor the Auditor General and the group is not subject to respond to requests under the Freedom of Information Act.
He added that the reasons behind the crash “are still out there”.
Capt Cullen said the organisation has raised concerns about the regulator on many occasions since 2003.
“Everything from flight time limitations to tiredness, and obviously the navigational inaccuracies, and security issues which are separate to safety,” he added.
Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association has raised many issues with the IAA in letters seen by the PA news agency.
“The issues raised are quite diverse and what’s been obvious over the years is that the IAA are judging the concerns raised by the source, rather than the actual subject,” Capt Cullen added.
“One of the things that will come out which has already been highlighted in the interim report is that the maps and charts are inaccurate, which was a contributing factor to the accident.
“Other pilots have reported that there were inaccuracies in the maps.
“There were two reports, in 2013 and 2015, that stated the maps were inaccurate and nothing was done about it.”
He has called for the Government to separate the safety regulatory department from the commercial part of the IAA.
Capt Cullen also said that pilots have expressed dissatisfaction in the way the IAA receives and investigates pilots’ complaints.
“Pilots have said they’ve made fatigue reports that have not been acted on and they made technical reports that have not been acted on,” he also claimed.
He said that many pilots who have flagged issues are not made aware if the issue has been investigated or whether it has been addressed.
It also emerged that the Department of Transport failed to appoint an individual to examine the safety and technical performance of the IAA for a long period.
“We discovered that this process had not been done between 2004 and 2014. Even though the law says it has to be done every three years,” he added.
The IAA and Department of Transport did not respond to requests for comment.
Last edited by Senior Pilot; 31st Dec 2019 at 01:13. Reason: Add quote: this helps Rotorheads know what you're posting about!
All those issues are just red herrings surely when people are raising or have raised concerns about culture, standards, training, unwillingness to listen/arrogance, even the possible CRM breakdown evident from how little interaction there was by the transcripts published. Or lack of rear crew involvement when they had tools at their disposal. Could it be a union just making noise claiming to be acting in the interests of its membership?
I hope the union keeps making noise so it forces those with entrenched positions within the SAR service provider to re-examine how they do business, why they are so resistant to change and why it is taking so long to rectify a simple matter like NVG training.
I find it quite ironic that IALPA stand shouting about the lack of change from the regulator when they themselves (and their membership) block a lot of the initiatives that have tried to be implemented since the crash.
A very broken train set that unfortunately IMHO won’t be transparently identified and acted on in the report.
LZ
A very broken train set that unfortunately IMHO won’t be transparently identified and acted on in the report.
LZ
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I find it quite ironic that IALPA stand shouting about the lack of change from the regulator when they themselves (and their membership) block a lot of the initiatives that have tried to be implemented since the crash.
A very broken train set that unfortunately IMHO won’t be transparently identified and acted on in the report.
LZ
A very broken train set that unfortunately IMHO won’t be transparently identified and acted on in the report.
LZ
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It’s been reported on her openly that an NVG instructor with relevant experience was recruited and promptly left again rather rapidly. In fact it’s a very widely known fact in UKSAR and Aberdeen.
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Reported on here - it is a rumour network.
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Last edited by Senior Pilot; 31st Dec 2019 at 02:13. Reason: Add quote: this helps Rotorheads know what you're posting about!
It was about
It was about
SAR S-92 Missing Ireland.
Norunway - since it sounds like you are on the inside of Irish SAR, are you able to detail what changes have been made in light of this accident and what progress is being made with the introduction of NVG?