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A NUMBER OF concerns were raised about pilot life jackets, navigation equipment, aeronautical maps and unclear safety regulation responsibility on Ireland’s search and rescue helicopters before Rescue 116 went down.
A report on RTÉ’s Prime Time by Katie Hannon this evening detailed how these issues were flagged well before Rescue 116 went down in March. In some cases, the concerns were raised five years ago.
Captain Dara Fitzpatrick was recovered at sea soon after the helicopter went down, but died later in hospital. The body of pilot Mark Duffy was found in the wreckage of the helicopter some weeks later.
The bodies of winch operator Paul Ormsby (53) and winchman Ciarán Smith (38) have yet to be recovered.
Life jackets
In terms of life jackets, it was reported that CHC Ireland – the company that runs the search and helicopter service – had received repeated warnings that the life jackets worn by Fitzpatrick and Duffy were not for purpose.
Crew members had logged several hazards about a key safety system on the jackets, the personal locator, for years.
The programme displayed internal documents that showed pilots had warned that they wouldn’t work. One pilot said that unless the issue was fixed, pilots would be “wholly exposed in the event of a ditching”.
A 2014 safety report filed by a crew member said that “effectively this means that the beacon could produce absolutely zero receivable transmissions”.
When Rescue 116 went down, none of the personal locator beacons worn by the four crew members activated. This was identified by the Air Accident Investigation Unit in its preliminary report four weeks after the crash.
In a statement CHC Ireland said: “Given that the Rescue 116 accident continues to be the subject of a formal investigation… it would be inappropriate for us to respond to specific questions of a technical nature.”
CHC is subject to oversight and regular independent audit by the Irish Aviation Authority, as well as audits undertaken on behalf of the customer – the Irish Coast Guard.
The life jacket manufacturer Beaufort Ltd also said that it was liaising closely with the AAIU and the Irish Coast Guard, and wouldn’t comment further until the outcome of the investigation.
Navigation
The programme also revealed flaws in the data available to the crew on the night of the crash, which showed Black Rock island as a dot with no information to indicate that it is an island of significant height.
On a separate mapping system using mini iPads on board, it showed Black Rock island as being 46ft. It is in fact 282ft at its highest point.
At a flight safety meeting attended by Ormsby in September 2016, it was warned that the moving map system on board should not be used for primary navigation as “it provides insufficient detail and is not kept up to date”.
One crew member said: “Why is this map not kept up to date…Some of the map images in aircraft are completely blurred and unreadable. For reasons of safety this system needs to be updated and of a quality that is usable for our current operations.”
A CHC Ireland employee told Prime Time that its Coast Guard pilots are still flying with blurred maps.
Other issues
There were also claims that the EGPWS provided inaccurate data on other terrains around Ireland, including Skellig Michael off Kerry.
That data was provided by the Irish Aviation Authority, and it said that it only learned that its data for Skellig Michael was incorrect nine days after the Rescue 116 crash.
Flaws were also found in data on the size of Achill Island and the Blaskets off Kerry.
There also appeared to be a conflict over who the statutory responsibility for safety oversight on search and rescue fell under.
The Department of Transport told the show that the Irish Aviation Authority was responsible for this. The IAA’s own state safety plan states that “search and rescue is… outside the remit of the IAA”.
The IAA was asked to explain how it was engaged in auditing an operation that was outside of its remit. It replied that it couldn’t comment due to the ongoing investigation into the Rescue 116 crash.
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I hope they never get that plane into service again. Its clearly badly designed and flawed. I fell that safety has not been prioritised by Boeing and its too late now for this plane. Scrap it and re design a proper safe airplane.
@Phillip Farrell: who in their rite mind would board it !
@Andrew O Grady: Anyone flying Ryanair whenever they’re delivered
@Phillip Farrell: In fairness, this wouldn’t be a design problem but quality control/staff briefings/shortcuts. But still doesn’t give me confidence.
@Phillip Farrell: feel
@Andrew O Grady: right
@Andrew O Grady: I’d happily board it once it’s been given the all clear. This plane is a game changer in the aviation business. Boeing have actually inadvertently made air travel even safer. The mistakes made in the computer software on the Max has ensured that the bar regarding safety has increased substantially.
@james dimaggio: Agree, but judging by this latest issue now the production line seems to have problems.
@james dimaggio:
Same.
The thing is, this has all happened before in the last with planes we’re all using today.
@james dimaggio: fair play to you but not one for me !
@Dean: good point dean. I think Oleary dropping the ball here. There’s a ton of people who’ll fly with a different airline, pay more for it to just not board this plane.
I think it’s time Ryanair tore up their contract with Boeing and use airbus.they are better safer and keeps jobs in Europe building airbus
@nicknack: Boeing have a better safety record than Airbus. They also have a lot more aircraft in the sky. Aside from the 737 MAX what other Boeing aircraft can you advise against flying in?
@mcdb06: the 787 didn’t go smoothly either. Although those issues were resolved pretty quickly. I also seem to recall a number of issues with the A380 when it was released. Didn’t Quantas ground it’s fleet?
@mcdb06: hahaha yes aside from this model of boeing plane that staff were warning wasn’t safe – ended up crashing killing hundreds of innocent civilians – skimped on safety by using printed manuals and offering the tech update for pilots at extra cost to airlines – can you give @mcdb06 some more specific models from the boeing company ??? because he is having a hard time understanding why people might be skeptical or concerned about Boeing after this clusterf*** by the US aircraft maker.
@Dave Hammond: So you cant give me examples aside from the 737 MAX that would make you think Boeing have a poor safety record? What about other 737 variants? Or 747? Or 757? Or 767? Or 777? The 787 had issues with batteries which have since been rectified. Care to enlighten me?
@nicknack: that’s not going to happen. Ryanair have ordered 135 of them. Instead Ryanair plan to rebrand them .. they are going to refer the Plane when it’s finally certified to fly as Boeing 737-8200. You will see no mention of “737 MAX”… IAG who own BA & Iberia & Aer Lingus have ordered 200 planes they also intend to rebrand ….
In fact Donald Trump himself , the King of Branding for such pigs in poke as Trump University , Trump Airlines etc … suggested this idea via a tweet in April 2019 ….
Boeing 737Max was the fastest selling commercial plane ever , and secured 5000 orders before it was grounded..so it’s going to be very difficult for them to scrap it ..
but after it re-enters service….Airlines are going struggle to get people to fly on it for a year or two !!
@mcdb06: https://www.businessinsider.com.au/boeing-737-max-foreign-object-debris-found-stored-planes-2020-2 Same issue on the 787 Dreamliner production line. They obviously didn’t learn anything.
@mcdb06: the 738 classic lost about 3 planes to rudder hard over and nearly lost 2 more to it too. With a flaw in the design of the rudder pcu.
They tried to cover that up too but only for a father who lost a child on one of the flights dug deeper than the the ntsb investigators
@Todd Unctuous: 737 classic*
@mcdb06: enlighten you ? Why would I bother to try ? You want to go on some merry dance setting up a false equivalence about other models – maybe you should go and familiarise yourself with the details that have emerged from boeing internal emails among its own staff – there is clearly a cultural problem in the organisation – they were disgracefully trying to basically monetise safety features like having the ops manual available in easy to use formats for extra cost – so spare me the bullshi8t about other models – the problems of confidence and trust are well documented -trying to distract from their shambolic management in some lame attempt to spin or excuse boeing shoddy behaviour -especially when it led to hundreds of deaths – who do you think you are.
@Dave Hammond: Spare me the mock outrage. The fact is you’ve shown you haven’t a clue what you’re talking about. The 737 MAX variant has been a shambles. But aside from that Boeing have produced some the safest, most reliable and longest serving passenger aircraft in the world. You make a sweeping statement about it being a company that only cares about money. So why does it have such a good record for the last 60 years? Muppet
Scrap them for metal at this stage!
Banks to give $10bn bailout to Boeing, nothing to the families of the dead
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/01/23/boei-j23.html
@PV Nevin: insurance companies will pay to the dead, not the banks.
@Jim Buckley Barrett:
I think they already have
Just deserts those people arent around anymore cause boeing cut corners
@Matthew O’Kane ☘️✊#BERNIEBEATSTRUMP: unlike yourself!
@Matthew O’Kane: are you just trying to get exposure for your fantasy hashtag?
@Feardorcha Ó Maolomhnaigh: here now its just a hashtag
@Matthew O’Kane: Multiple accounts now?
Ultimately it is greed that has brought Boeing down. They had a good reputation and produced some cracking safe planes but this whole 737 max fiasco stinks of greed and cost cutting. If these are ever released, I will not fly on one and yes I understand Ryanair will probably be flying them.
Amazing how far Boeing have fallen (no pun intended). Once the leading manufacturer of planes in the world to what is essentially a toxic brand.
@wondery have a great pot cast in their business wars series that tells the story of Boeing vs airbus from the beginning right up to last year. Highly recommend it.
More woe for Boeing? Morelike woe for anyone flying on a Boeing plane!
Scary & several problem Boeing 737
@Brian Flavin: The 737 MAX is only one variant of the 737 which has been around for decades. The 737 has been one of the most reliable aircraft in history.
People have short memories. Earlier variants of the B737 (200 and 300 series) had a rudder actuator issue which led to the loss of 5 aircraft (317 deaths) and 3 serious incidents before Boeing came up with a fix.
@Mark Healy: the 737-200 was introduced in the 1960s. They’ve clearly solved the issues and improved the aircraft in subsequent variants. It would hardly be flying in any capacity if it was a fundamentally flawed aircraft
Now that I check, I see rudder issue actually applied to all variants. The directive in 2007 involved the installation of a redesigned control system to all of the 737 fleet. Yes, they have an excellent safety record, and I’ve no problem flying in one, but not flawless.
That’s some debris….tools or rags left behind in fuel tanks. Never heard the like of it!
Famous second-hand car dealer Arthur Daley used recommend inserting an oil rag to keep a rattling gear box quite, at least until cheque was cashed.
Once again a huge corporation has treated regulators and the wider population with contempt all to make quick money, they duped the FAA into thinking this plane was safe and look what it has cost them, lives lost, company running into trouble, employees and 3rd party contractors facing job losses. This plane would have revolutionized air travel if it had of been done properly, the whole organisation needs to be restructured, this was just not good enough and with the release of all those emails via the Fed Committee it just shows how toxic Boeing are
I say a prayer everytime I book a flight that the plane is not a Boeing! Profit over safety seems to be their driving force
The Daily podcast on Boeing is terrifying. Whistleblower staff being reassigned off the production line after reporting exactly this – loose dangerous debris, in the electrics in the belly of the plane too. The company knows and is rushing to hit deadlines. People should be charged. Crazy scary stuff.
That’s where I left my socket set.. fack anyway
737 Max is a deeply flawed airframe that is attempting to use fighter aircraft technology to stabilize it’s instability ~~ I would not get on one !
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