Tue, Jul 11, 2006
January Saab 340 Incident Leads To Four New
Recommendations
In response to an
incident earlier this year in which the pilots of an American Eagle
Saab 340 turboprop lost control of their airplane after
encountering icing conditions over California's central coast, the
NTSB on Monday issued four new recommendations for planes operating
in icing conditions:
- Require all operators of Saab SF340 series airplanes to
instruct pilots to maintain a minimum operating airspeed of 1.45x
Vs during icing encounters and before entering known or forecast
icing conditions and to exit icing conditions as soon as
performance degradations prevent the airplane from maintaining
1.45xVs. (A-06-48) Urgent
- Require the installation of modified stall protection logic in
Saab SF340 series airplanes certified for flight into known icing
conditions. (A-06-49)
- Require the installation of an icing detection system on Saab
SF340 series airplanes. (A-06-50)
- Require all operators of turbopropeller-driven airplanes to
instruct pilots, except during intermittent periods of high
workload, to disengage the autopilot and fly the airplane manually
when operating in icing conditions. (A-06-51)
In addition to the recommendations, the NTSB also called for a
panel to be convened consisting of airplane design, aviation
operations, and aviation human factors specialists, including
representatives from the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, to determine whether a requirement for the
installation of low-airspeed alert systems in airplanes engaged in
commercial operations under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Parts
121 and 135 would be feasible, and submit a report of the panel's
findings. (A-03-53)
If the panel requested in Safety Recommendation A-03-53
determines that a requirement for the installation of low-airspeed
alert systems in airplanes, the NTSB would then establish
requirements for low-airspeed alert systems, based on the findings
of the panel.
According to the NTSB's preliminary report on the incident last
January, the pilots of the Saab 340, on a flight from San Luis
Obispo to Los Angeles encountered icing conditions during the en
route climb at about 11,500 feet MSL. The plane then banked hard to
the left and departed controlled flight, descending to about 6,500
feet MSL before the pilots regained control about 50 seconds
later.
The crew then continued to their scheduled destination of Los
Angeles International Airport (LAX), and landed without further
incident.
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