Introduction
The report is based on the aircraft accident of a Rans aircraft S-19 Class 2 Microlight ZK-MBX, which was operated on a private cross-country flight. The flight was part of a planned group fly away with seven other aircraft, from Taieri Aerodrome to Omarama Aerodrome for a group lunch on 25 June 2017 (Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand, 2019). At approximately 1129 hours, while in the cruise phase of flight at around 5200ft above mean sea level (AMSL), the aircraft departed controlled flight, subsequently impacting terrain. The Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) of New Zealand notified the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of the missing aircraft at approximately 1500 hours (Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand, 2019). The aircraft wreckage was located about three nautical miles southeast of Hyde in Central Otago. A rescue helicopter arrived at the wreckage site at around 1630 hours (Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand, 2019). The pilot received fatal injuries. The passenger, who was also a pilot, suffered severe injuries. He was found trapped inside the aircraft wreckage and was subsequently airlifted to hospital.
The safety investigation identified the following contextual factors:
- The pilot let the passenger fly the aircraft
- The passenger was not familiar with the Rans Aircraft S-19 cockpit ergonomic layout
- The sensitivity of the electric trim buttons caused an unintentional activation of the trim system
- The out-of-trim control stick forces can be significant.
This report will describe the safety investigation that will be carried out for the named accident and will include: the planning process, location terrain, weather contingencies, skill set of the investigation team, equipment to be carried, investigation information sources, recovery of the aircraft, and preservation of the evidence.
Planning
Planning for the investigation should be a thorough but sensitive process. All the stakeholders and professionals involved in the investigation need to be briefed on the aircraft accident. The plan for the investigation is an independent procedure that is specific to every accident. Therefore, a study of the particular accident should be done, and all the information tabled to the investigation team. There should be several meetings held before any steps towards the investigation are taken. Each session should develop a resolution that will help in the investigation. Various state departments should be consulted before the investigation is commenced. Consultations form some of the essential steps in the planning process of the analysis. The personnel who will participate in the investigation should analyze the information collected from the reported accident.
Since the main objective of the investigative team is to determine the cause and nature of the accident, it is essential to work as fast as possible. All the apparatus and valuable equipment for the investigation should be assembled. In the investigation team, various individuals will have different tasks, and therefore, grouping the people according to their duties is also crucial. The accident site should also be correctly identified and the terrain and topography determined. The topography will govern the transportation method used by the team and will also determine some of the equipment required. In the planning process, it is also essential to ensure that the time of the accident is noted. This will help in the conclusion of various factors that may have been the causes of the accident. Time of departure to the accident site should also be included in the plan to ensure that all team members are on board and no one is left behind.
Location and Terrain
The location of the accident was reported to be in Middlemarch, somewhere in Central Otago. The flight was part of planned private flights from Taieri Aerodrome to Omarama Aerodrome for lunch (Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand, 2019). The other planes landed safely at the scheduled destination, while the reported accident plane did not arrive. The terrain is rocky and hilly, with rivers and fields surrounding the crash site.
Despite the time limit, traditionally, the police wait for the first light if the accident happened at night. The location around the disaster point is marked by the team of investigators in such a way as to avoid the loss of evidence scattered throughout the area. It took the search teams five hours to find the crashed plane and the search routine was majorly by air. As it can be seen from Figure 1, the area is not navigable by road as it is covered in hills (Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand, 2019). Therefore, to make plans on how to get to the accident site, taking the location and terrain into consideration would be prudent. From the description of the location and the landscape, it is clear that it would be time-consuming and even dangerous to go there by road. The best possible way to get to the site faster and without hindrance would be via helicopter.
Weather Contingencies
During the day of the aircraft accident, the weather was fair and fit for a flight. There was no rainfall, the clouds were not thick, and the wind was not strong either. It was a good day for any routine flight. The meteorology department had announced that the conditions would remain the same for the better of the month. No adverse weather was expected to occur in between the month. The meteorological conditions report is valuable information, especially during aircraft accidents. Many aircraft accidents have occurred as a result of bad climate. Consequently, before any pilot takes to any flight, they must be up to date with the weather conditions in case of any changes.
Due to the hilly and rocky terrain, it would only be possible to get to the accident scene through air travel. The collection of some evidence may be affected by extreme weather, which is the main reason to have weather contingencies in place. To ensure the entire team’s safety throughout the investigation duties, the weather for the day of the investigation should be determined (International Civil Aviation Organization, 2020). Any changes in the weather should be catered for, and different weather gears carried. It is also crucial that the health conditions of the crew are determined with cross-reference to the weather.
Skill Set of the Investigation Team
An aircraft accident investigation requires a wide range of skill sets and proficiencies. A team of rescuers and medics is require since the initial task is to rescue the survivors on board who are stuck in the aircraft body. The investigation team should consist of people from different professions who can get to the crash site, collect the required information, and report to the authorities and the media. Forensics professionals are required to be in the team. In most cases, aircraft accidents need the help of forensic professionals to solve some answers about the crash. Aeronautical engineers are also supposed to be part of the team to analyze the technical aspects of the accident.
The group also requires an official from the Aviation association who acts as the interim head of the investigation. In most situations, detectives from the state police should accompany the investigation team as police statements concerning the aircraft accident should be recorded. The police control the admission of people and services to the place of the incident (Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 2020). Police also usually bring a professional photographer with them to capture evidence. A media crew may accompany the team for up-to-date coverage of the investigation. Other services that may be sent to the scene of a tragedy include the Fire Department in the event of a fire on the spot and the Department of Environmental Protection to check for damage to nature due to a possible release of chemicals or radiation.
Equipment to be Carried
An aircraft accident investigation is a rigorous process that requires modern and effective equipment. Crash sites are hazardous and should not be accessed without proper protection. The entire investigation team should have personal protection equipment (PPE) to protect them from harmful material around the crash site (International Civil Aviation Organization, 2020). Any injuries that may occur to a team member should be handled with utmost care, and the team must ensure that a first aid box is within the packed equipment. Flashlights and earplugs should also be included in the list of personal protective equipment (International Civil Aviation Organization, 2020). Durable and reliable cameras of high quality are required to film the area of the accident. Aircraft recovery equipment must also be delivered to the crash site, and manpower is needed for the subsequent cleanup of space.
Maps and GPRS computers are also crucial during the investigative process to determine the exact area of the catastrophe and retrieve the remains of the aircraft. Fire extinguishers should be carried in case a fire breaks out during the investigation process. Metal cutters, spanners, and bolts should be utilized if there is a need to take apart some parts of the plane. The forensics team would require medical apparatus such as forceps, tweezers, tongs, and spatula to collect specimens. Walkie-talkies with a large range should be used to enhance communication due to the hilly characteristics of the territory.
Investigation Information Sources
Initially, the investigation is established by the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand, which is notified of the loss of the aircraft by another organization, The Rescue Coordination Centre. Once the team arrives at the crash site, it is essential to assess the wreckage and collect every part of the plane. After receiving the provisional aircraft accident report, the team must get more investigative information from the plane itself. The information stored within the various components of the plane provides the team with reliable primary information concerning the crash.
The field investigations start with determining all recorded data found within the plane. These data recorders on the plane may include the Flight Data Recorder and the Cockpit Flight Data recorders (International Civil Aviation Organization, 2020). These pieces of equipment offer the preliminary information that relates to the crash. Quick Access Recorders and non-volatile memory found in printed circuit boxes may also provide investigators with the information they need concerning the crash. In this air accident case, the pilot and passenger survived. The passenger who was acting as the pilot is able to talk and could be used as a firsthand source of information regarding the crash. The passenger who was flying the plane at the moment of the accident would be a crucial source of information. His memory was intact, and he could still remember the events leading to the accident.
Investigation and Recording Techniques
The investigation report should provide accurate and credible information concerning the accident. Aircraft accident investigators are responsible for providing the public, government, and media with credible information regarding the crash (International Civil Aviation Organization, 2020). Therefore, the investigative team should ensure that the investigation and data recording techniques are professional and effective. They are briefed about the aircraft accident, and it is upon them to rely on their knowledge to develop the best skills to carry out the investigations and record the data.
The methods employed in this investigation would include crash site analysis and investigation that would involve an interview with the passenger. Getting all the information possible from the crash site is essential in ensuring that the nature of the crash and the cause are determined and recorded. As Figure 3 shows, over the past decades, the amount of technical information that can be written to the Flight Data Recorder has only been growing (Zhao et al., 2021). Extracting data from the cockpit and the Flight Data Recorder would provide the investigation with technical information regarding the aircraft accident (International Civil Aviation Organization, 2020). Photographs and videos taken from the crash site would also inform the investigation report.
Since the passenger who was one of the two people on the plane at the time of the crash was alive and could communicate, it would be prudent to interview him. During the time of the accident, the passenger was piloting the plane, and thus he is in position to report the sequence of events to the investigators. Technical analysis of the relay and control panel is also necessary to characterize the sequence of actions and how the aircraft mechanism responded to them.
The recording techniques for the investigation are multiple. Voice recording of the interviewed passenger would be used to present the findings. Typed transcription of the interview would also be significant in the investigation. Photos and videos of the wreckage could also be used to record the data collected in the investigation. Data recovery equipment may help retrieve the data on the cockpit and the Flight Data Recorder. The information should be stored in hard drives and printed into transcripts for future use.
Recovery of the Aircraft and Preservation of Evidence
The recovery process at the scene of a disaster includes the following sequence of actions: extraction of people and animals, extraction of recorded information, prevention of additional damage or obstruction (Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 2020). Evidence can then be extracted from other evidence and given to the FBI or a police officer. It is important that the accident area be carefully photographed from the air prior to intervention. Places from which parts of the aircraft are taken for further investigations should be marked using stakes on the ground. The Flight Data Recorder and the Cockpit are taken for information retrieval. Any other significant object taken from the crash site that might help in the investigations is recorded and photographed.
Most of the evidence taken from the crash site is put under 24-hour security and should not be accessed unless authorized personnel. Evidence taken from the crash site is not disclosed to the public until reviewed by the investigative team and the Aviation authorities. All recorded information concerning the crash is stored either in softcopy form in hard drives and servers or as files in enclosed storage.
Conclusion
The aircraft accident investigation team is tasked with a sensitive and challenging responsibility, which requires specific expertise. Proper planning and preparation should be done before embarking on the investigation. Investigation reports need to be accurate and credible documents that provide necessary information about the accident. The government, the public, and the media rely on the investigative team’s information to them. Therefore, the investigation should be a professional process carried out with utmost integrity and expertise. The team of specialists is represented by rescuers, doctors, police officers, criminologists, as well as representatives of the Civil Aviation Authority, who are to prepare a safety report. The information retrieved from the accident site should be recorded and kept safe for future reference to warn pilots and point out flaws in the design and manufacture of the aircraft model.
References
Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand. (2019). CAA Safety Investigation Report: Departure from Controlled Flight ZK-MBX RANS Aircraft S-19 near Hyde, Central Otago. Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand.
Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. (2020). Contingency plan for the salvage of crashed aircraft. Web.
International Civil Aviation Organization. (2020). Manual of Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation. ICAO.
Zhao, W., Li, L., Alam, S., & Wang, Y. (2021). An incremental clustering method for anomaly detection in flight data. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 132, 103406. Web.