Week 5
Welcome to Week 5 of National Safety Month 2023
WEEK 5 IS PROUDLY SPONSORED BY:
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WEEK 5 - AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND MAINTAINERS
This week we are focusing on content aimed at aircraft owners and maintainers. This information is, however, also valuable to all pilots operating within RAAus.
Whilst not formally part of our National Safety Month fatal accident series, technical failure in aircraft can lead to fatal outcomes. It is therefore essential that all aircraft maintenance tasks are completed in accordance with legal requirements. All RAAus maintainers should understand their requirements in accordance with the RAAus Technical Manual.
MOST COMMON TECHNICAL OCCURRENCE CATEGORIES
Engine Failure or Malfunction
Landing Gear / Undercarriage Issues
Flight Control Issues
TOP TIPS FOR AVOIDANCE
Always ensure your aircraft is airworthy and that all maintenance is up to date prior to flight. This includes completion of 100 hourly or annual inspections, mandatory service bulletins, and instrument calibration.
All maintainers must ensure they are competent to complete any work required prior to carrying out maintenance. If you are not competent to do so, you must seek assistance from a qualified L2 maintainer.
Avoid distractions during maintenance and ensure duplicate inspections are carried out in accordance with the requirements of the RAAus technical manual.
Ensure appropriate and calibrated tools are used to conduct aircraft maintenance tasks.
Ensure all repairs and modifications are carried out in accordance with approved data and with the required approvals.
Complete regular engine condition reports to identify warning signs before a failure occurs. This should include cylinder compression and leak-down testing and oil and fuel consumption tracking.
Ensure all maintenance requirements, due dates and hours are clearly recorded and checked prior to each flight. RAAus recommends the use of our Hours and Maintenance Record (HAM).
Regularly inspect your aircraft for signs of ageing, including general wear and tear and corrosion. Depending on the aircraft use, some components may require replacement more regularly than manufacturer requirements, such as undercarriage components.
HOURS AND MAINTENANCE RECORD
How do you keep track of and record:
- A summary of key maintenance due dates and hours?
- Aircraft registration date?
- Mandatory daily inspections?
- Hours and landings?
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE HOURS AND MAINTENANCE RECORD
How Healthy Is Your Engine?
During routine maintenance do you conduct differential pressure testing?
Do you cut open your fuel filter to inspect for particles?
Do you track oil and fuel consumption?
These factors may show warning signs before a failure occurs.
A piston engine condition report should be completed during routine
maintenance to aid engine health and trend monitoring.
Differential pressure testing is an important maintenance task to monitor engine health and performance.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON COMPRESSION TESTING
Instrument & Transponder Calibration
Did you know that pitot-static instruments and transponders must be calibrated every 24 months?
Don't get caught out with non-compliant instruments!
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.....
Avoiding Undercarriage Failure
Undercarriage failure is a commonly reported occurrence for RAAus aircraft and may result in significant damage to your aircraft. Thorough maintenance inspections, completion of hard landing inspections, and proactive preventative maintenance tasks may assist in avoiding serious aircraft damage before it occurs!
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.....
OCCURRENCE SUMMARIES
Occurrence summary highlights the potential dangers of poor maintenance inspections
Earlier in 2023, RAAus received a defect report following identification of a rudder cable with approximately 50% broken strands, located at a pulley behind the rear seats.
Maintainers are reminded of the importance of conducting thorough inspections of aircraft control cables and all aircraft components during routine maintenance in accordance with manufacturer requirements. Review of this occurrence identified that the rudder cable damage occurred due to normal wear and had not been replaced in 15 years. Wear of the cable should have been detected during previous maintenance inspections and had the potential to result in serious and or fatal outcomes.
Engine failure and collision with terrain involving S.E.D.E. Morane-Saulnier MS.893A
What happened?
On 6 November 2020, the pilot of a S.E.D.E. Morane-Saulnier MS.893A (Rallye) aircraft, registered VH‑UQI, was conducting a private flight from Moruya, New South Wales, to Archerfield, Queensland. About 22 km south-west of Archerfield Airport, the engine began running rough before eventually failing. The pilot elected to conduct a forced landing into an open but slightly undulating paddock. The approach direction resulted in a tail wind landing. The aircraft over-ran the open area before it impacted with a grove of trees, significantly disrupting the aircraft structure. A post impact fire consumed most of the fuselage.
Witnesses to the forced landing arrived at the scene and removed the unconscious pilot from the periphery of the fire zone and called emergency services. The pilot was seriously injured, and the aircraft was destroyed.
What the ATSB found
The aircraft’s engine had a catastrophic mechanical failure. The initiation of the mechanical failure was the separation of the number 2 piston connecting rod which subsequently created a hole in the upper crank case and seized the engine. The engine failure reduced the pilot’s forward visibility due to engine oil over the windscreen, as well as smoke created by escaping oil on the exhaust system.
The pilot was ferrying the aircraft on behalf of the owner and had limited aircraft type experience and knowledge of its performance capabilities. Additionally, it was found that the pre-flight planning was limited, an emergency locator transmitter or portable locator beacon was not carried on board the aircraft for the flight.
The aircraft engine had not been overhauled since 1997. The aircraft had limited usage for an extended period, possibly with no specific engine preservation done while in storage. Had the engine been overhauled at the manufacturer's recommended calendar time, the connecting rod journal bearings would have been replaced with post-modification bearings as part of the overhaul process.
Safety message
This investigation is a timely reminder for aircraft owners and maintainers to be cognisant of the manufacturer’s service information which ensures that the serviceability of engine and airframe systems are maintained to the highest standards. This includes strict monitoring of on-condition items, and that replacement of some parts may be warranted to ensure continued and safe operation. Consideration should also be given to preservation of the engine and its systems, should an aircraft be infrequently utilised.
(Content and image source: ATSB)
Maintenance Human Factors Case Study
The following video is a fictitious case of a maintenance organisation which uncovers a range of human factors concerns, including:
- Distraction
- Time pressures
- Disorganisation
- Financial cost-cutting
- Lack of procedures
- Failure to carry out a duplicate inspection
It is essential that all maintainers, regardless of whether you are an owner maintainer or a LAME at an airline, manage human factors during all maintenance tasks.
Aircraft must not be treated like the farm Toyota - Failure to conduct proper maintenance can lead to fatal outcomes.
Avoid the Dirty Dozen!
The dirty dozen is the 12 common causes of human factors errors within aviation maintenance.
What do you have in place to avoid these happening to you?
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
(Image Source: FAA) CLICK HERE to view an FAA presentation on the Dirty Dozen
Read the content above, then click the following link and complete a short quiz to enter our week 5 prize draw!
CLICK HERE TO ENTER OUR WEEK 5 PRIZE DRAW
YOU COULD WIN ONE OF THE FOLLOWING PRIZES*
FIRST PRIZE: Maintenance Tool Kit - Valued at $970.00
SECOND PRIZE: 12 Month RAAus Flying Membership - Sponsored by RAAus - Valued at $325.00
Applicants must hold a current Flying Membership or Non-Flying Membership In order to be eligible to win the Maintenance Toolkit
National Safety Month would not be possible without the support of our sponsors:
