This article is from page 18 of the 2006-08-01 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 18 JPG
AN OFFICIAL report has found that the consequences for an air ambulance that was forced to return to Shannon Airport last year could have been more serious if the aircraft was flying in icy conditions.
The Air Accident Investigations Unit (AAIU) of the Department of Transport investigated the circumstances into which a 25-year-old twin engine plane en route to Newfoundland on June 8, 2005 returned to Shannon just over 20 minutes into the flight.
The report found that, while climbing to 16,000 ft, the crew heard a loud bang and noted a rise in temperature of the aircraft engine.
A visual inspection revealed that a six-foot section of the left de-ice boot had separated from the wing leading edge.
As a precaution, the pilot cut the left engine to flight idle conditions and the aircraft returned to Shannon without further incident.
The crew did not declare an emergency and there was no further damage to the aircraft.
However, according to the report, the aircraft was being used in the air ambulance configuration for flights over oceanic waters and those who hire aircraft for such operations expect the highest standards of aircraft maintenance.
If the boot had torn off later in the flight in icy conditions, the consequences could have been more serious.
The report concluded that the de-icing system had not been maintained in an airworthy condition.
The AAIU investigation found that a length of port de-icing boot tore from the leading edge of the wing and was ingested by the port engine.
As a consequence, a number of engine fan blades were damaged by boot material.
The cause of the incident was insufficient/poor bonding between the boot material and the surface of the wing leading edge caused portion of the port wing de-icing boot to depart and evidence that the boots had been poorly maintained in service.
The AAIU recommended that the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) should review requirements for emergency medical service (EMS) operations in order to set standards of safety.
A study by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently concluded that many of the air ambulance accidents could have been prevented with new technology, better risk assessment and tighter rules on flying in bad weather.