Flight Safety Information February 11, 2010 No.033 In This Issue Crashed Ethiopian jet's second black box found London City Airport crash jet 'not properly serviced Thailand to deport arms jet crew ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Crashed Ethiopian jet's second black box found By Rouba Kabbara (AFP) - 22 hours ago BEIRUT - Divers retrieved on Wednesday the cockpit voice recorder from an Ethiopian jet that crashed off the Lebanese coast last month as officials warned against speculation about the cause of the disaster that killed 90 people. "We have recovered the second black box from the Ethiopian plane and it will be handed over to investigators in France," Aridi told AFP. He added, however, that divers were still trying to recover a key part of the box that was missing. "We handed the box over to the investigation committee and were told it was missing a crucial piece," he said. "Our divers are continuing attempts to find and recover that piece." The Lebanese navy retrieved the first black box, the flight data recorder, on Sunday and sent it to the Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses (BEA), France's accident investigation agency. A BEA spokesperson in Paris said the data retrieved from the box was being examined. The Lebanese government said it was still in the dark as to what caused the January 25 crash and dismissed as inaccurate reports of pilot error. "We have not yet received the official report, and all that is being reported as data from the black boxes is inaccurate," Information Minister Tareq Mitri said on Wednesday. "It is not acceptable that hypotheses be spun up every time the technical team secures a piece of information," Mitri added. Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 plunged into the Mediterranean just minutes after take-off from Beirut airport during a fierce storm. The Boeing 737-800 was bound for Addis Ababa with 83 passengers and seven crew on board. No survivors were found and searchers have been struggling to recover bodies as most victims are believed to be still strapped to their seats. There have been conflicting reports as to whether the jet exploded while airborne or after it hit the water. Officials have said there will be no answers until the data from the black boxes is analysed. Lebanon has ruled out sabotage, and officials have said the captain was instructed by the control tower to change to a certain heading before the aircraft took a different course. But Ethiopian Airlines said on Wednesday that it could not rule out any factor, including sabotage. "Ethiopian Airlines does not rule out all possible causes including the possibility of sabotage until the final outcome of the investigation is known," the company said in a statement released in Addis Ababa. More than 23 bodies and body parts had been found by Sunday. The body of the wife of France's ambassador to Lebanon, Marla Sanchez Pietton, who was on board Flight 409, was identified on Wednesday, the French embassy said. The remains of the Ethiopian pilot were also identified. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ London City Airport crash jet 'not properly serviced' Records wrongly showed maintenance work to have been completed Safety work on a plane whose nose landing gear collapsed at London City Airport had not been properly completed by a parts manufacturer. Smoke filled the British Airways Avro 146 jet, carrying 67 passengers, as it landed on 13 February 2009. A fatigue crack led to the landing gear fracturing, an investigation found. Improvement work on the plane had not been fully finished by the US firm responsible, even though records showed it had been. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) also found there had been "poor surface finish during manufacture" of the aircraft, necessitating the safety improvements which were not properly completed. Emergency chute As the plane, which had a crew of four on board, touched down at the end of a flight from Amsterdam, the nose landing gear penetrated the fuselage. All the passengers were safely evacuated from the plane, 66 of them leaving via an emergency chute. Two people suffered minor injuries and the airport was shut for several hours. The AAIB report noted the plane's public address system was knocked out due in part to damage sustained in the crash. However, no safety recommendations were made by the AAIB as inspections and maintenance have been tightened since the crash. British Airways said it welcomed the report. "There are no specific safety recommendations for BA, but we have worked with the relevant authorities and manufacturers to ensure that the highest safety levels are maintained," said a spokesman. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/8509780.stm [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103029681818&s=6053&e=001RP9z-hwXg1NYPmb_0RN3XrcdvmK9Ewq7jSfk9FW0lQcgkw3Khaln8UtgA4AV2xT2IAkwcvNYl3nrFtEhm0M5DsdOfktcehRPIoFA5favS6j6aXqDtHCsJ8abxeMqXrXzxJF6e7OwWn1sQB_HwF-5g6ljRpvjbBWDKsiJYEgcT2s=] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thailand to deport arms jet crew The Georgian-registered cargo jet was detained by Thai authorities on December 12. Thai prosecutors have dropped charges against five crew members from a cargo plane suspected of trafficking arms from North Korea. Thanaphit Mollaphruek, a spokesman from the Attorney General's Office, told reporters in Bangkok on Thursday that the men would be deported to face prosecution in their home countries. "The trial here will not benefit Thailand so we have decided to drop the charges," he said. "Their countries of origin want to try the men in their home countries," Thanaphit said. The five - four from Kazakhstan and one from Belarus - were detained on December 12 last year on suspicion of weapons smuggling. The five crew men will be deported to their home countries. Their Georgian registered Ilyushin-76 cargo plane had landed at Bangkok's Don Muang airport on a refuelling stop en route from the North Korean capital, Pyongyang. The men at the time said they were carrying oil drilling equipment bound for Ukraine. But during the stopover Thai customs inspectors acting on an intelligence tip-off found the plane was loaded with around 35 tonnes of weapons, including missiles, rockets and grenades. Al Jazeera's Aela Callan reporting from Bangkok said the murky nature of the case meant it had always been a headache for Thai authorities. The final destination of the weapons has never been made clear, she said, and even though the crew will now be deported it remains unclear what will happen to the cargo of weapons. Income earner Several reports have speculated that the weapons were ultimately intended for Iran, although that has never been confirmed. In recent years arms exports have become one of North Korea's main earners of foreign currency, selling weapons to several countries in the Middle East and anyone else willing to pay. But under UN resolution 1874 passed last June, North Korea is banned form exporting any arms except light weapons. The resolution followed international outrage over North Korea's testing last year of an intercontinental rocket and a nuclear warhead. Under the terms of the resolution member states are mandated to monitor and intercept any shipments they suspect may be in contravention of the sanctions. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/02/201021173448710477.html [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103029681818&s=6053&e=001RP9z-hwXg1Mx-TVg1hCG29QQZzx5rB_dFlxsMtjCrkOVrmho1BxHPrizmwo57f7tzEUnP28ARJh4-mePtL_1vSmzRMNfDrE-kyC4k1FfvaSUpTcSKrs0IPmXVPLvVmcvfcozOpRndNqRO4bK2ZIE5M90dED1QUOsahw3OAUnSndETsryIfH98GhdHLMoA5l-q8DtltlBjok=] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC