[Peetwo]

The Wichita connection - 


From this "K" post today...  

I’m forever blowing bubbles -

P2 - Nah Mate: me bubbles is all in good wurkin’ order, no problems there; the ‘bump of curiosity’ however is working overtime. Shirley is right to be suspicious; this from the SMH rang a few bells and whistles:-

SMH – “It comes as the Australian Transport Safety Bureau is close to completing a major investigation into how Essendon's DFO complex was designed and approved. The probe was launched in the wake of a fatal crash in 2017 when a light aircraft ploughed into the rear of the Centre.”

P7 - "Letters from CASA to the airport released under FOI say it did not have time to check the DFO plans. “Gathering the information required for the authority’s assessment of whether every item in a Draft Master Plan will be compliant with civil aviation safety requirements would be time-consuming and expensive,” one letter says.

Given the ATSB’s piss poor analysis of the accident, the way the Witchita accident was ignored, the rapid, unsupported claim ‘the pilot dun-it’ and the lack-lustre performance of the ATSB management; it leads one to wonder why was the ATSB selected to ‘investigate’. What ‘expertise’ can they offer in the black art of air space design?

You can see why my ‘bubble’ is still floating – the SMH article was good work – corroboration from the AFAP seems, at face value, to be reasonable and it gets the story published; so far so good. The AFAP actually did the ‘right thing’ and Diamond is a ‘white hat’. But bringing the AFAP any deeper into this sorry saga will raise deep seated, long held suspicions. CASA are up their collective Hocks in the approval of this building as are the DoIT. Many rice bowls to protect and ‘alliances’ to maintain; not to mention the big money interests. Not one of these outfits can afford the slightest whisper of culpability in allowing this DFO to be built where it is. Hell I can just about hear the insurance legal Eagles sharpening their talons and beaks from here – as a counterpoint to the tramping of politicians feet as they head for the exits, dragging their safety nets and golden parachutes with ‘em.

Yet responsibility for the investigation rests on the shoulders of the Hood ATSB. Am I worried? – Oh, you bet I am. I doubt I’d trust Hood as far as I could kick him, given the chance. This is a matter of great importance – Australia trails the world best practice by 60 years; the development around airports since privatisation has been uncontrolled. The Essendon DFO accident was a wake-up call; the investigation needs to be independent, unimpeachable, free from any hint government agency involvement. A Royal Commission working with the USA ‘code’ as a guide would reveal the unprecedented ‘risk’ Australians live with in the vicinity of aerodrome ‘high risk’ areas.

We were very, very lucky at Essendon – got off very lightly. The worst case scenario at Essendon would have seen Australia’s very worst ever aviation disaster. Is Hood the right man to entrust with this task?

Aye well; that’s up to you to decide. You’d need four good men, a strong horse and I’d have to be legless before you could get me (or mine) into that airport DFO.

Toot – toot….

Quote: ..Given the ATSB’s piss poor analysis of the accident, the way the Witchita accident was ignored, the rapid, unsupported claim ‘the pilot dun-it’ and the lack-lustre performance of the ATSB management; it leads one to wonder why was the ATSB selected to ‘investigate’. What ‘expertise’ can they offer in the black art of air space design?..

I still don't get that bit (  ) where no comparison was made with the Wichita accident, just take the CCTV footage for example:

Now read this bit from the link provided by "K"...  

Investigation[edit]

Inspection of the aircraft systems, engines and propellers found no irregularities that could have prevented normal operation. In depth scrutiny of the propellers combined with a sound spectrum analysis led investigators to conclude the left engine was probably generating low to moderate power and the right engine was at a moderate to high power setting at the time of impact. Other evidence, including video taken by cameras around the airport, suggested that considerable left rudder input was applied by the pilot shortly before the crash. Correct reaction to a reduction in power from the left engine would have been right rudder input.[1]

Examination of the CVR reveiled it had survived the crash with usable data intact. On the day of the accident at 9:46:13 a.m. sounds of the pilot performing an engine run up test were recorded along with the words "prop test" in a whispered voice. 35 to 45 seconds later the word "trim" was whispered follow eight seconds later by a two word phrase starting with an expletive and ending in "it".[5]

At 9:47:52 the words "We have 80 knots, feathers armed" were spoken and at 9:48:01 the sound of the propellers operating unsynchronized was recorded. At 9:48:05 a two word phrase starting with the word "the" and ending with an expletive was recorded then at 9:48:16 the pilot radioed the tower saying "and tower just declaring an emergency ah we just lost loss the left engine" followed almost immediately by the sound of the stall warning horn. The horn was recorded twice more than at 9:48:25 the pilot spoke a phrase starting with an expletive and ending "we're going in we're dead".[1][3][5] 

Emergency procedures call for the malfunctioning engines propeller to be feathered and the landing gear to be retracted for an engine failure during takeoff. Inspection of the aircraft revealed that neither propeller was feathered and the landing gear was extended. The aircraft was equipped with an autofeather system and a rudder boost system but their operational condition at the time of the crash is unknown due extensive post crash fire damage. On 1 March 2016 the NTSB released its final report on the accident and states under the heading Probable Cause and Findings that:

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be: The pilot's failure to maintain lateral control of the airplane after a reduction in left engine power and his application of inappropriate rudder input. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to follow the emergency procedures for an engine failure during takeoff. Also contributing to the accident was the left engine power reduction for reasons that could not be determined because a postaccident examination did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation and thermal damage precluded a complete examination.[1]

    
Now I know that the pilot radio transmit is different to the repetitive, broken record MAYDAY x 7 but even Blind Freddy would have to admit the apparent disassociation and complete lack of appropriate emergency actions is very similar. Couple that with the inappropriate rudder inputs, banking and yawing to the left, plus loss of height etc..etc is very, very similar...  

My 2 bobs worth...MTF - P2