Increase Recommended By Transport Accident Investigation Commission In Report

It's not just the FAA and the NTSB that sometimes disagree about aviation safety considerations. The Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand says it will not double inspections of some GA airplanes despite a call to do so by that country's Transport Accident Investigation Commission.

The TAIC said in a report following an incident in which the nose gear on a Piper PA31-350 Navajo Chieftain jammed in a partially retracted position during a training flight at Nelson Aerodrome. The nose landing gear could not be extended again, and in the subsequent landing the airplane sustained substantial damage. Neither of the 2 pilots, the only persons on board, was injured.

According to the report the airplane had a recent history of nose landing gear defects, including other failures to extend or retract normally. Some of the rectifications of the earlier defects, carried out by various maintenance organizations, had not been completed in accordance with Civil Aviation Rules, because incorrect parts or unauthorized repairs had been used, and the airplane's manufacturer's Maintenance Manual procedures had not been followed.

The Commission made recommendations to the Director of Civil Aviation that he take action, in concert with the aviation industry, with the goal of improving the level of compliance throughout the general aviation maintenance sector; and that he widen the range of maintenance that requires a duplicate check, at least for aircraft used in air transport operations, in order to reduce the likelihood of recurring defects and incidents.

But CAA director Graeme Harris told the Radio New Zealand program Checkpoint that such double checks on "small" airplanes are limited to crucial areas such as engines and flight controls. He said the likely outcome would be that the inspections would not be done properly if too many were required, "So I guess we'd rather focus on those really critical systems."

He said that requiring such double checks would be "out of step" with requirements imposed by other countries.

FMI: www.taic.org.nz, www.caa.govt.nz