Safety Recommendations for the Civil Aviation - Research Paper Example

Abstract The safety of air transportation has become a subject of active discussion through the realization that traffic fatality cases tend to be the leading reasons for human death all over the world. This is why this work is designed to look at the problem from a new angle. It is necessary to investigate each case and design the safety recommendations for the civil aviation. The case under consideration is the accident happened on 07 May 2005.   Crew resource management Introduction   The accidents of all kinds of transport need thorough investigation. It is necessary to investigate each case and design the safety recommendations for the civil aviation. The main goal is to define the cause of the accident, to carry out the study of the safety in relation to it and to evaluate the effectiveness of the safety programs, which are being performed by the Government at the time. As the civil aviation is a fast growing global system, it is necessary to pay necessary attention to the accidents, which present international threat or the threat to the independence and integrity. As far as any accidents in relation to transport and especially aviation present a huge number of problems, from financial to emotional, the main goal is to prevent further accidents through issuing safety recommendations. In terms of aviation, it is necessary to address the problems of general operations, cabin safety, design of aircraft and weather. In order to come to relevant conclusions as for the means and methods of increasing the level of transportation safety and to decrease the amount of fatality cases and injuries, the time has come to view the problem from the more detailed side. The areas which will be considered in this work will include the results of crash tests, which should explain the reason of the accident. There are special agencies to realize the importance and the necessity of on-board crew training in relation to better coping with emergency situations. Case description The accident happened with the plane of the company Transair, however the unhappy flight was held by Aero-Tropics Air Services. This company was to organize additional services and it was the organization Transair who provided the plane and team. The plane left Cairns at 08:31. During the descent to Lockhart River on the northbound flight, the team planned to carry out a landing strip 30 RNAV (GNSS) method. As a result the pilots properly moved the plane to land on landing strip #12 at 09:50 and then left Lockhart River at 09:58 for. The plane was in Bamaga at 10:39, where it was refilled to go back. However the pilots were informed that the weather was bad and they would not be able to land at Lockhart River. The plane left Bamaga at 11:07. The plane was at the altitude of FL170 and at 11:32 it started descending. The accident happened when the aircraft was maneuvering to land. According to the official final report, the most probable reason was the loss of the control over the airplane. The plane started descending 1.4 NM before the final approach fix (FAF). This was 0.3 NM (approximately 7 seconds) after the descent point specified for the constant angle approach path. The average rate of descent was 1000 ft/min, increasing to 1700 ft/min. At 11:43 the Metro was over the FAF at an altitude of 2379 feet. The altitude at this stage should have been 2860 feet. The flight descended then through the segment minimum safe altitude of 2,060 ft. It continued to descend until it flew into the side of a heavily timbered ridge in the Iron Range National Park. The height of the initial impact with trees was 1,210 ft, which was about 90 ft below the crest of the ridge (Collision with Terrain, 11 km NW Lockhart River Aerodrome, 7 May 2005, VH-TFU, SA227DC). The report has also mentioned the safety issues as the integral parts of any report, which here touch the problem of rudder malfunctions, which could cause the loss of the airplane control. The plane had no autopilot. This was a mistake of Transair Company. Such errors can be the reasons of tail strikes. Tail strikes happen when an airplane's tail comes in contact with the runway on takeoff or landing without benefit of a tail wheel. According to studies conducted by the Douglas Products Division, they can happen for many reasons, but are, of course, more frequent under certain circumstances. There are some aircraft types that experience a larger percentage of its tail strikes during takeoff, and others that have a higher percentage when landing. Efforts have been made by manufacturers to reduce tail strikes as much as possible. Adding tailskids, changing procedures, and enhancing training are just some of the ways that the airlines are solving the problem of tail strikes. The critical factor in tail strike avoidance is the pilot’s adherence to standard procedures (Scheck, 1997).       A mist rimmed stabilizer which increases the chances of a tail strike during takeoff, may occur for a number of reasons: incorrect data, miscalculated weights, an incorrect center of gravity (CG), or incorrectly entering information to the flight management system. Any of these will put the stabilizer in the wrong position. A crew with a great deal of familiarization with the aircraft type and its weight range will be more likely to catch mistakes by checking the information against past experience. Mist rimming the stabilizer nose down has the potential to cause problems during takeoff, but will rarely cause a tail strike. On the other hand, mist rimming the stabilizer nose-up can greatly increase the chances of incurring a tail strike. A stabilizer mist rimmed nose-up will require less force on the yoke to initiate a rotation, as does an aft-center of gravity position. The pilot might not expect the nose to rise so quickly and exceed the rotation rate causing a tail strike. When this happens, the aircraft usually passes through the critical rotation angle before the necessary changes in attitude can be made. There is also a chance that the nose will raise without any control input from the pilot, and the aircraft rotating on its own (Scheck, 1997).       Another problem faced by pilots transitioning to a new aircraft type is the tendency to use an excessive rotation rate. This can be a noticeable problem when the pilot goes from an aircraft with empowered flight controls to an aircraft with hydraulic assistance. They usually do not expect such a drastic change in the control feel. Loading the CG at its aft limit will also cause a greater tendency for the aircraft to pitch higher and sooner than anticipated.       The most frequent problem is seen when there is a tail strike is the mistake of allowing the airspeed to decay below the Vapp speed prior to the flare. Clearly, flying the approach at the right speed is crucial to a successful landing. During the final 200 to 300 feet of descent, it is not unusual for the headwind component to decrease, sometimes abruptly, due to surface friction between the ground and the atmosphere. This is a much more common condition than the violent convective wind shear and can occur in relatively stable air. It is suggested that after the aircraft reaches 200 feet during the descent, power should be added if needed, but there should be reluctance to reducing thrust during this critical phase of the approach prior to the flare maneuver. If auto throttles are used on the final approach, the throttles should be guarded closely to prevent large power reductions. Accident investigation The accident investigation includes: 1. Operations – this role presupposes the investigation of the flight history prior to the accident 2. Structures – to define the pre-accident course and attitude of the plane this action implies the documentation of the accident scene 3. Powerplants – it is the investigation and the observation of the aircraft engine and its essential parts 4. Systems – the examination of the rest of aircraft essential systems as electrical and hydraulic, for example 5. Air traffic control – presupposes the acquisition of the data according to the radars and flight control system 6. Weather – means acquisition of all the weather data available for the broadest area around the scene of accident 7. Human performance – the investigation of the crew actions and all factors that might cause their influence on the crew performance Factors of survival – the documentation on all efforts of rescuing the passengers and the crew. The investigation and recommendations The main factors: - the team started approach in spite of the fact that the pilot did not have enough experience for that; the speeds were too high and exceeded stated in the manual; the team ignored minimum safe altitude for such maneuver; the aircraft's high rate of descent, and the descent below the segment minimum safe altitude, were not detected and/or corrected by the crew before the aircraft collided with terrain; According to The Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s report, “the accident was almost certainly the result of controlled flight into terrain” (Collision with Terrain, 11 km NW Lockhart River Aerodrome, 7 May2005, VH-TFU, SA227DC). Important factors: The aircraft team went through high workload; During the approach the team lost the understanding of the position of the aircraft; The pilot in command appointed to this flight had not very good history of previous flights. He often exceeded speed and did not ask team for support during the approach. The copilot was not prepared appropriately to act efficiently According to the report: “The Lockhart River Runway 12 RNAV (GNSS) approach probably created higher pilot workload and reduced position situational awareness for the crew compared with most other instrument approaches. This was due to the lack of distance referencing to the missed approach point throughout the approach, and the longer than optimum final approach segment with three altitude limiting steps” (Collision with Terrain, 11 km NW Lockhart River Aerodrome, 7 May2005, VH-TFU, SA227DC). Other important factors: - The company Transair did not implement proper proficiency check before appointing pilots for the flight; The organization’s Operations Manual was not in suitable format to open in difficult situation; Crew resource management training was not held appropriately; The work of team members, cooperation and support, distribution of tasks was not regulated properly; The requirements for pilots were too vague. The skills needed for this or hat approach were not clearly specified; CASA's instructions were not clear; No safety management system in the plane; No autopilot. According to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s report, ”there was no regulatory requirement for multi-crew RPT aircraft to be fitted with a serviceable autopilot”. Australian Transport Safety Bureau recommended: to seek to ensure that in an aircraft requiring a flight crew of two, both crewmembers are appropriately qualified to carry out an instrument approach; to provide a mechanism for the phased introduction of autopilot equipment to all aircraft on the Australian civil aircraft register engaged on scheduled air transport operations (Collision with Terrain, 11 km NW Lockhart River Aerodrome, 7 May2005, VH-TFU, SA227DC). Conclusion and recommendations The safety of air transportation has become a subject of active discussion through the realization that traffic fatality cases tend to be the leading reasons for human death all over the world. The aircraft accidents need thorough investigation. It is necessary to investigate each case and design the safety recommendations for the civil aviation. The main goal is to define the cause of the accident, to carry out the study of the safety in relation to it and to evaluate the effectiveness of the safety programs, which are being performed by the Government at the time. As the civil aviation is a fast growing global system, it is necessary to pay necessary attention to the accidents, which present international threat or the threat to the independence and integrity. As far as any accidents in relation to transport and especially aviation present a huge number of problems, from financial to emotional, the main goal is to prevent further accidents through issuing safety recommendations. In terms of aviation, it is necessary to address the problems of general operations, cabin safety, design of aircraft and weather. In order to come to relevant conclusions as for the means and methods of increasing the level of transportation safety and to decrease the amount of fatality cases and injuries, the problem was viewed from the more detailed side. The areas considered in this work included the results of crash tests which should explain the reason of the accident. There are special agencies to realize the importance and the necessity of on-board crew training in relation to better coping with emergency situations. In the given paper we used the report of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. The present investigation showed that the accident happened because of the company who provided the plane for this flight. The accident happened with the plane of the company Transair. The problems, which exist in the Transair and among its staff need application of the operations management methods, which will manage effectiveness and high quality servicing. After investigation it became clear that company’s crew resource management needs a great number of alterations and improvement. The alterations should be made immediately, because the cost is high. To make the management more effective, it is necessary to implement training of pilots and provide them with suitable manuals. To provide the effectiveness of the work in relation it is possible to suggest the following actions: - Each pilot should go through a short 20-30 minutes’ training, during which senior managers will explain them the importance of their schedule and the cost of each delay; - Ensure that the rules are standardized and are known to all pilots; - Set the priorities for the staff in their work, explaining them where they should concentrate their maximum attention; - ensure that autopilot and safety management system is set in each plane; - Teach the staff to work with the real time information and to quickly take the necessary measures. Each pilot should know his contribution into the work of the whole company, together with the cost of delays and mistakes which he (she) might make.   These recommendations can be applied by any organization, but they are especially important for transportation companies, because every staff member must be informed about the seriousness of the mistake of lack of information. References N. Shankar. Effciently executing PVS. 1999. Project report, Computer Science Laboratory, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA, Nov. Available at http://www.csl.sri.com/shankar/PVSeval.ps.gz.   Collision with Terrain, 11 km NW Lockhart River Aerodrome, 7 May2005, VH-TFU, SA227DC. ATSB Occurrence 200501977 of 04 April 2007 available at http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2005/AAIR/aair200501977.aspx Scheck, William. (1997). The development of the autopilot. Aviation History Magazine available at http://www.century-of-flight.freeola.com/Aviation%20history/evolution%20of%20technology/autopilot.htm                                                               Read More