7DaysinParadise
Travel => General Travel => Topic started by: Gambitt on December 01, 2009, 08:18:10 AM
-
Toronto Sun:
OTTAWA -- Electrical wires stuck to the sides of an aircraft with masking tape. A plane refuelling with its engine running because equipment to restart the engine wasn't working. Mechanics disciplined for reporting mechanical problems.
Those were just some of the examples of what's going on behind the scenes at Canada's airlines -- incidents that Transport Canada's new inspection system isn't catching, associations for Canada's pilots, mechanics and aircraft inspectors told a Parliamentary committee yesterday.
While Air Canada was the airline most frequently cited, they say similar problems likely exist at other major airlines as well.
"We are no longer confident the major carriers are compliant with safety regulations," said Daniel Slunder, chairman of the Canadian Federal Pilots Association.
While Slunder and mechanics union head Carlos DaCosta said none of what they have witnessed so far was enough to singlehandedly cause an air crash, they say the problems are symptomatic of a system that is badly flawed.
The controversy centres on the Safety Management System adopted by the government to oversee aviation safety in Canada -- a system in which air carriers do more self-inspecting. The system currently applies to larger airlines; extension of the system to smaller airplanes has been delayed to January 2011.
The government says the system is safe and gives it a better idea of what is happening at an airline than traditional spot inspections.
Unions say they don't oppose the idea of an SMS system, however they say changes are needed to the system in place.
Christine Collins, president of the Union of Canadian Transportation Employees, said inspectors are so busy checking paper reports that they are no longer carrying out the kinds of inspections they used to.
And the Globe & Mail
A passenger plane with masking tape holding up electrical cords and a hot-wired instrument panel. Another aircraft fixed with the kind of parts that could have come from Canadian Tire.
An Air Canada jetliner doing an illegal refuelling with a running engine and passengers on board.
Those stories became public yesterday as unions representing aviation inspectors, mechanics and Transport Canada staff told the House of Commons transport committee that Canada's new airline safety system has turned them into deskbound bureaucrats who no longer conduct hands-on inspections.
The controversy stems from the federal regulator's new oversight regime, Safety Management Systems. Under SMS, carriers manage safety systems and government inspectors assess those systems instead of doing spot checks only.
"Most inspectors do not even leave the Transport Canada office," Christine Collins, president of the Union of Canadian Transportation Employees, told the Commons committee yesterday.
The unions were countered by the testimony of Marc Grégoire, a Transport assistant deputy minister, who said SMS lets inspectors monitor a carrier's operations more deeply than random checks would.
But Daniel Slunder, national chairman of the Canadian Federal Pilots Association, gave the committee a string of surprising allegations that were reported to his organization.
He gave as an example a regional carrier that sought a permit to make modifications to a plane. "Under SMS, an inspector's job is to review this application and sign off that the paperwork is in order. Nothing else."
He showed photos of the plane after the work was done, with masking tape holding up electrical cords in the cabin and an ungrounded power line hot-wired into the instrument panel. "As you can see ... the installation fell far short of paper promises," Mr. Slunder said.
In another case, an aircraft was repaired with wing bolts and electrical connectors that were not made specifically for the aviation industry and "anyone could buy at Canadian Tire."
"This airplane is not safe to fly," Mr. Slunder said, showing photos taken by an inspector who was in the plane for another purpose. "Yet it has carried passengers in this condition, all because its state of disrepair was not visible through an assessment of this company's SMS."
He tabled with the committee documents that said that an Air Canada jetliner refuelled while an engine was running and alleged that it took off with ice on its wings.
On Oct. 9, 2009, Flight 271, an Airbus A320 flying from Toronto to Winnipeg, was diverted to Grand Forks, N.D., where it refuelled before departing.
A Canadian pilot for Emirates airline who was a passenger alerted the crew that he saw ice on the wings, Mr. Slunder said.
In an e-mail to Transport Canada, the Emirates pilot complained that the crew told him it was just moisture, even though it was -3 outside.
The Emirates pilot also said that the plane's auxiliary power unit, which starts the engines, wasn't working, forcing the crew to keep an engine running and do "hot refuel," which can be more dangerous than refuelling with the engines off.
An e-mail reply from Transport Canada said that, under SMS, Air Canada would hold an internal probe while the regulator would be "closely monitoring."
"This is a much more effective means of oversight," Jennifer Taylor, director of National Operations at Transport Canada told the pilot in an e-mail, which was released by the CFPA.
In a statement, Air Canada said yesterday that the flight left after the crew inspected the wings and found no ice.
The carrier admitted it did an illegal refuelling, saying it had no choice because there was no ground power source in Grand Forks to use in place of the auxiliary power unit, and that it could not move the passengers away from the plane during the refuelling because U.S. customs wouldn't let them disembark.
"While Air Canada is not certified by the regulator for this procedure, the aircraft manufacturer's specifications allow fuelling with the engines running," the carrier said.
Carlos DaCosta, of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers in Canada, told the committee that airlines are punishing mechanics who flag problems in the SMS system.
Although the move to SMS began in 1999, when the Liberals were in power, MPs from the incumbent Conservatives defended the system at the hearing.
"Fear-mongering is not productive," said Tory MP Candice Hoeppner.
The inspectors also complained to the committee of short-staffing.
There are currently 878 inspectors and 98 vacancies., which will be filled by the end of the summer, Mr. Grégoire said. He insisted that the present number of staff will still allow oversight. "What do you think we are going to do with 878 inspectors, play cards at the office?" he said.
******
New regulations
For a decade, Transport Canada has been busy moving to a sweeping new regulatory approach called Safety Management Systems.
Under SMS, rather than solely doing hands-on inspections, Transport Canada staff would focus on auditing airlines' safety management systems.
For example, instead of directly inspecting an aircraft's tires, government inspectors would review whether the airline has the right procedures in place to ensure that tires are properly inflated.
The theory behind SMS has been embraced in many industries. However, its application in Canadian aviation is hotly contested.
In a report last year, the Auditor-General said Transport Canada failed to assess properly the impact the SMS change would have on oversight.
The audit faulted Transport Canada for moving resources to SMS without measuring the impact on existing oversight activities.
The Auditor-General report noted that the International Civil Aviation Organization sees SMS as a complement to traditional inspections.
How long will it be till a "Perfect Storm" of minor mishaps, brings down one of these Jets???
-
I prefer not to know what goes on behind the scenes and just let us board our plane in perfect bliss with dreams of sand and sea.
I know that's ridiculous, but if I thought about it all I would never go anywhere.
-
I know that's ridiculous, but if I thought about it all I would never go anywhere.
It took long enough to get me back onto an airplane and I kind of leave the ground with the same mindset! On the otherhand I hope that "the powers to be" swallow their pride and listen and act on these concerns from the people who are dealing with these safety issues on a day to day basis.