ARFFWG | ARFF Working Group -

Here are the news stories for today;

A couple of International accidents of note…

Everyone have a good weekend,

Be safe out there!

Tom

A 2001 SR22, With A REPACKED CAPS Chute, Experiences Rocket Firing But NO Chute Deploy

You know you’re having a bad day when a flight goes so bad that you feel you must resort to using a parachute to see you safely through the flight… but the day is TRULY bad when that chute fails and leaves you to battle the emergency that you thought you had escaped from.

Earlier Thursday, Cirrus Pilot Tim Valentine, flying near Addison Texas aboard N715CD, experienced some mode of instrument failure while IFR in a 12 year old Cirrus SR22, serial number 16. According to Valentine, who spoke to ANN extensively Thursday within hours of the incident, he was IFR from Addison TX to Kansas at 7000 feet when he noticed the first signs of some instrumentation issues while avoiding the back side of a major thunderstorm cell. Later, Valentine experienced more serious issues when the HSI went down, the autopilot followed and he began to suspect problems with his Attitude Indicator. The trend was not encouraging.

Realizing that he was in the soup, and that the situation seemed to be escalating — and while flying an SR22 with an airframe parachute attached, Valentine elected to deploy the CAPS… a system that had been repacked the year before in accordance with the lifetime limits established by Cirrus when the system was developed based on technology pioneered by BRS over a decade before, starting with installations built for the Cessna 150 and 152 (for which ANN’s Jim Campbell was one of the test pilots through a number of deployments).

Valentine described the non-deployment simply as, “I pulled the chute… heard the pop, smelled a burning smell, kept smelling the burning smell… and waited for the jerk of the chute deployment… which never came.”

Realizing that he had the potential for a deteriorating instrument/guidance profile and not trusting his current situation, and after already having declared an emergency, he elected a steep dive (about 2800 fpm) through IMC until breaking out at or around 800 feet. Valentine kept ATC informed as he made his way back to Addison, and humorously noted that the turned down an offer to shoot the ILS back into ADS… which would have required him to ascend to over 2500 feet, and back into the clag, to be able to undertake. Valentine politely vetoed the option and elected to stay VFR at low altitude until landing at ADS.

As he taxied in, Valentine was notified that he “was dragging something” behind his plane as he taxied back to the local Cirrus Service Center. A few minutes, later, as his heart rate returned to something considered somewhat normal, Valentine noted that what we was dragging was the expended rocket canister, the two sections of bridle below it and that the entire parachute bag and assembly were still well-ensconced within the fuselage, though the fuselage hatch was long gone. Attempts by Valentine to dislodge the parachute were unsuccessful as he found the entire assembly “tightly wedged” within the aft fuselage.

At this point, the FAA has been on site for an initial look-see, and the NTSB is expected to investigate, as well. This is the first attempted deployment of a repacked CAPS assembly, and of course, the first failure of its kind. This repack was conducted fully under the control of the Cirrus Service Center program and the supervising parties at a time when Cirrus and BRS (the company primarily responsible for pioneering this technology — despite Cirrus’s attempts to suggest otherwise) were involved in legal problems arising from a number of IP and financial issues. These days, BRS has a much larger role in the repack process and in the prep of the systems that are upgraded at the time of repack.

Buzz among the Cirrus community has been extensive and a number of folks seeking more information from ANN, have indicated that their faith in the CAPS system has been shaken somewhat… and certainly in the repack process undertaken by Cirrus. One Cirrus owner noted that, “I’m sure as hell not going to tell my wife about this…”

The repack process, fairly expensive, requires the airplane to be down for a considerable period of time (especially for first generation Cirrus airframes), and is reportedly much more expensive than what was hoped for, by BRS, before Cirrus and BRS had their falling out (and, in fact, Valentine noted that when he started researching the repack process, he would have preferred that BRS undertake it… but, “Cirrus wouldn’t allow it.”) Regardless, Valentine loves his airplane and looks forward to fixing the damage done and getting a proper repack conducted at a later date.

ANN is monitoring the developing story and will provide more data as it becomes available.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov

A Myanma Airways Xian MA-60, registration XY-AIQ performing a flight from Heho to Monghsat (Myanmar) with 55 passengers, overran the end of the runway while landing on Monghsat’s runway 30 at about 11:50L (05:20Z) by about 240 meters and stopped at the airport perimeter fence.

2 passengers received serious injuries (broken arms) and were taken to a local hospital, the aircraft sustained substantial damage like a collapsed left main gear, damage to the left wing, especially to the left hand wing.

Myanma Airways reported that the aircraft suffered a brakes failure.

No Metars are available, the local weather station reported light variable winds, scattered cloud and temperature 34 degrees C at the time of the accident.

Monghsat offers a runway 12/30 of 1525 meters/5000 feet length.

KATHMANDU, MAY 16 – A Nepal Airlines aircraft crashed while attempting to land at Jomsom Airport in Mustang on Thursday morning.

There were 21 passengers, including three crew members and eight Japanese tourists, were on board the charted flight.

The NA-9NABO Twin Otter that took off from Pokhara at 8.10 this morning skidded off the runway of Jomsom airstrip and crashed onto the banks of Kaligandaki River at 8.33 am, multiple sources said.

Civil Aviation Authority confirmed that Captain Deependra Pradhan, Co-Captain Suresh KC, Airhostess Santa Maya Tamang and passengers Gobinda Pahadi of Parbat and Japanese tourists S Akawa and Khawesa Chiyo have sustained critical injuries. They were flown to Pokhara by Tara Air aircraft for treatment.

Other injured have been identified as Dilli Raj Panta, Madhu Panta , Nuru Lakpa Sherpa, Uma Thapa Magar, Santosh BK, Pema Gurung, GR Thakuri, K Gurung, AL Sherpa and two-year old Hemsung. They have been undergoing treatment in a local hospital in Mustang, Local Development Officer Dilli Ram Sigdel informed.

The crash might have been caused by a sudden gust of wind that caught the plane while it attempted to make a landing. However, the exact reason for the crash has not been confirmed.

60 Years ago today: On 17 May 1953 a Delta Air Lines Douglas DC-3 crashed near Marshall, TX in a thunderstorm, killing 19 out of 20 occupants

Narrative:
Flight 318 departed Dallas on a VFR Flight Plan at 13:10 for Atlanta, with a scheduled stop at Shreveport. En route to Shreveport the crew were warned about thunderstorms in the area of Longview. At about 14:12 Flight 318 called the Shreveport Control Tower, which cleared it to make a right-hard turn for landing approach to runway 13. Flight 318 acknowledged this message and requested the Shreveport weather which was transmitted as dark scattered clouds at 1,000 feet, ceiling estimated 4,000 feet, overcast at 20,000 feet, visibility 10 miles, thunderstorm, light rain shower. The tower also advised of a thunderstorm approximately 15 miles west of Shreveport. This transmission also was acknowledged by the flight. The thunderstorm was entered at an altitude of 2500 feet, and with no apparent attempt to change course. The very intense localized thunderstorm was accompanied by frequent cloud-to-ground lightning, hail, heavy rain, turbulence, and high winds. The flight was forced to the ground. It struck the trees while in a shallow angle of descent. It continued ahead, cutting a swath through trees for a distance of approximately 500 feet, struck the ground, skidded, and came to rest in a mess of wreckage 870 feet from the point of initial contact with the trees. The aircraft partially burned following impact.

PROBABLE CAUSE: “1) The encountering of conditions in a severe thunderstorm that resulted in loss of effective control of the aircraft, and 2) The failure of the captain to adhere to company directives requiring the avoidance of thunderstorms when conditions would allow such action.”

KATMANDU, Nepal May 16, 2013 (AP) – A plane crashed while trying to land at a mountain airstrip in northern Nepal early Thursday, and all 21 people on board, including eight Japanese tourists, survived with injuries, police said.

Four of the injured were in critical condition, police officer Bhim Bahadur Chand said.

The state-owned Nepal Airlines plane was carrying eight Japanese tourists. The others on board, including three crew members, are all Nepali.

The Canadian-built Twin Otter plane was trying to land at Jomsom airport, some 200 kilometers (125 miles) northwest of the capital, Katmandu, when it crashed on the banks of the Kaligandaki river.

All of the injured were flown in different planes to the nearby city of Pokhara, where there are better-equipped hospitals.

Police said the wheel of the plane touched the runway but that the aircraft veered toward the right and crashed on the banks of the Kaligandaki. The front portion of the plane was destroyed, but the rear part remained intact. The left wing remained submerged in the river.

Rescuers were able to pull the injured passengers and crew from the plane.

Civil aviation officials identified the Japanese passengers as Namba Hajime, Sato Setsuko, Terada Etsuko, Kawabe Sachiyo, Yazawa Yaeko, Yazawa Hiromi, Kawakami Hiroko and Abe Akiko. Other details about the Japanese passengers were not immediately known.

The area is popular with foreign trekkers visiting the Mount Annapurna area and Hindu pilgrims visiting the revered Muktinath temple.

Fifteen people were killed last May when a plane crashed while attempting to land at the same airport.

The sun this week unleashed a series of X-flares, classified among the most intense solar activity, that each became the most energetic of the year until the next one; none were directed toward earth but that may change next week with possible effects for aviation. The Space Weather Prediction Center is watching the activity for potential disruption of space-based communication systems and ground-based electronics. Aviation activities most susceptible to the flares include aircraft communication. If affected, scientists say we would see it first with aircraft flying near the poles. The increase in solar storm activity was predicted years ago and AVweb sat with a specialist to talk about its affects on GA.

Back in 2010, AVweb‘s Glenn Pew interviewed Joseph Kunches, a scientist at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center. Kunches said solar storms can cause position errors and problems acquiring signal form GPS and satellite-based services. He said that users could encounter problems with ADS-B and GPS and other satellite-dependent technologies. Kunches noted that solar activity has resulted in observed errors in GPS receivers in the range of about 20 meters. Ten years ago, in late October, the FAA curtailed the ability for pilots to use WAAS precision approaches because the system could not be considered reliable due to solar activity. Kunches noted that engineering solutions were in the works and many satellites had specific qualities meant to reduce the possibility of disruptions due to solar storms. Ground-based systems like VORs historically haven’t suffered during solar storms, said Kunches, but higher-precision applications like GPS could lose lock on some satellites or suffer other consequences. He did believe it was a tractable problem. Listen to Joseph Kunches in his own words here. Visit SpaceWeather.gov for more.

67 Years ago today: On 16 May 1946 a Viking Air Transport Douglas DC-3 crashed near Richmond, VA (USA), killing all 27 occupants

Narrative:
The DC-3 landed at Richmond-Byrd Field (RIC) with indications of engine problems. The crew however, decided to continue to Atlanta immediately because of worsening weather conditions. Engine trouble after takeoff forced the crew to return to Byrd Field. The aircraft was not properly lined up on the first attempt to land and maneuvered for another attempt. One of the engines ran rough and was shut down. The aircraft lost control, stalled and crashed. It appeared that the pilot had shut down the wrong, no. 2, engine when a crack had developed in the no. 6 cylinder of the no. 1 engine.

PROBABLE CAUSE: “The inability of the pilot to maintain adequate control of the aircraft to effect an emergency single-engine instrument approach under adverse weather conditions. Contributing factors were: The decision of the pilot to continue the flight into weather conditions when the considered unsafe; the negligence of the pilot in failing to have an inspection of the aircraft engines made prior to departure from Richmond, the action of the pilot in shutting down the wrong engine when experiencing excessive vibration from a power plant; and the pilot’s neglect in failing to retract the landing gear during an emergency go-around.”