Monday, April 21, 2014

Federal safety report lists 59 incidents at Vancouver International Airport in 2013: Radio controlled helicopter had ‘serious risk of collision’ with jetliner

A radio-controlled helicopter posed a “serious risk of collision” with an Air Canada passenger jet during its landing approach, according to federal aviation safety reports for last year at Vancouver International Airport.

On March 29, the Air Canada Boeing 777-300 was flying at 600 metres when the crew observed the radio-controlled helicopter pass within 20 to 30 metres of the aircraft at the same altitude. The crews of subsequent aircraft also reported seeing it flying above 450 metres. RCMP were dispatched but no helicopter or operator could be found.

Lew Potts of the Sea Island Model Flying Club, based in Delta, said most enthusiasts of gas or electric model aircraft belong to a regulated club offering liability insurance and operating usually at altitudes no higher than about 120 metres.

But he said radio-control helicopters — which can have an aluminum or titanium frame, fibreglass shell and carbon-fibre rotor — do not require landing strips and in this case may have involved a “rogue operator” who wanted to test the limits of the aircraft.

Noting that some models can be the size of an eagle, he said: “You wouldn’t want it sucked into an airplane, that’s for sure.”

Bill Yearwood, regional manager of the federal transportation safety board in Richmond, confirmed that a remote-control helicopter could have a similar impact to a large bird. It poses a potential threat not just to an engine, but to windshields — especially on smaller aircraft and full-sized helicopters — and to external controls.

Turbulence also figured prominently last year in a list of 59 reportable incidents from YVR compiled by the safety board for The Vancouver Sun.

During a Sept. 3 Air Canada Jazz flight from Smithers to Vancouver, the turbulence was so swift and severe that a flight attendant and passenger hit their heads on the ceiling and a passenger also scraped an arm on a trolley. The event lasted only two seconds while the de Havilland Dash 8 flew at 7,500 metres.

There were also 11 reports of wake turbulence, which is caused by aircraft moving through the air and can be especially dangerous for smaller aircraft travelling behind large jets on calm days. During windy days the turbulence created by large jets can dissipate in seconds, but on flat-calm days it can linger for several minutes, posing an invisible threat to planes closely following the same flight path.

On Aug. 1, a Jazz de Havilland Dash 8 was on arrival flying at 3,000 metres and about eight kilometres behind a much larger Air Canada Airbus A320 when the crew reported “quite a bounce” and the airplane moving around for 15 to 30 seconds resulting in the crew disengaging the autopilot.

On Aug. 3, a Pacific Coastal Airlines Saab-Fairchild SF 340A was on landing approach descending through 850 metres when it hit “severe turbulence” resulting in a “nose up deflection and 45 to 60 degree roll to right,” but no injuries or aircraft damage.

Incidents of wake turbulence are expected to increase with more aircraft flying in the Vancouver area and with improved navigational systems that allow planes to more accurately follow the same precise landing approaches.

If wake turbulence is encountered at low elevation, suddenly jostling the plane up and down, it may be impossible for the crew to regain control before striking the ground.

That’s what happened in July 2009 to a Canadian Air Charters twin-engined Piper Chieftain on landing approach to YVR. Captain Jeremy Ryan Sunderland, 28, and first officer Mathew Douglas Pedersen, 23, died in the crash near Bridgeport and No. 5 roads.

The turbulence from an Air Canada Airbus A321 about 1.5 nautical miles ahead resulted in “upset and loss of control at an altitude that precluded recovery,” the safety board report found.

Four reportable incidents involve bird strikes, including a Japan Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route to Narita on March 17 that aborted takeoff due to a possible bird strike in the left engine. All eight main tires deflated, requiring water to be applied to cool the brakes. On Nov. 2, an Air Canada Boeing 767-300 bound for Korea hit a small flock of birds. The crew noticed increased vibrations and elected to dump fuel in the Strait of Georgia and return to the airport.

There were six incidents involving smoke or faulty smoke detection equipment, including an incident March 12 in which smoke filled the cockpit of a Pacific Coastal Airlines Beech 1900C causing the crew to declare an emergency. An audio amplifier was to blame.


Source:   http://www.vancouversun.com