accident statistics - sacaa

AccidentStatistics

Remotely Piloted Vehicles

A publication of the SA Civil Aviation Authority

Our featured flying club

Contents

Fellow Aviators, Greetings for the New Year!

As this is our first edition for the New Year; we would like to take this opportunity to welcome you all.

Once again, it is our wish to continue to work together in our endeavours to promote a culture of safety.

The year promises to be one that is not only challenging; but also puts our industry in the spotlight in the eyes of the whole world.

With the Fifa World Cup upon us, we have all made great progress as passionate aviators and it is incumbent upon each and every one that we maintain high levels of safety and security.It is important to work together and align ourselves with the interna-tional best practices and the principles of Safety Management Systems.

The main pillars of a Safety Management System are:

1. Safety Policy2. Safety Risk Management3. Safety Assurance 4. Safety Promotion.

Accidents cost money and mean bad business. Let us all take a stand to prevent accidents and say “One accident is one too many…”

This will be of great benefit to the country, our entire industry and will also benefit our international reputation and surely make us a bench-mark to the rest of the world.

Let us all adopt a positive attitude towards aviation safety.

Remember: “Flying is so many parts SKILL; so many parts PLANNING; so many parts MAINTENANCE; and so many parts LUCK. The trick is to REDUCE LUCK by increasing the others.

Happy Reading…!!!

Editorial note 1

Personal Safety 2

Swellendam flying club 3

Accident case study 1 4

CAHRS poster 5

Accident case study 2 6

Confidential Aviation Hazard Reporting System 7

UAV’s 8

Civil Aviation Safety 9/10

Cartoons 11

Crosswords 12

Cartoons 13

Calendar 14

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Editor: Ishmael Mokoena

Note: Please send us any subject that you would like us to cover, or send us your success stories that we can use to promote aviation safety and security. Email: [email protected] Fax: 086 562 6658

From the editor

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Charlie has an emotional argument with his wife and proceeds to the local bar for a few drinks.

He leaves the bar and drives his car at high speed. He crashes his car in the process and is fatally wounded.

We know what happened; we must now do an analysis of events to uncover the facts as to WHY it happened?

The psychologist finds a breakdown in interpersonal communications within his marriage. The liquor board inspector notes an illegal sale of an alcoholic beverage on a “one-for-the-road” basis. The pathologist finds that his blood alcohol level was in excess of the legal limit.The freeway engineer finds that the highway banking and protective barriers were inadequate. The car engineer finds that the car had a loose front end and bald tyres.

The Police officer finds that the car was travelling at excessive speeds for the prevailing road conditions.

Each of the findings or perspectives may result in a different definition of the underlying hazard. After the argument with his wife, Charlie was not in the right frame of mind and instead of seeking professional help; he opted to intoxicate himself further by consuming alcohol. His mental judgment was clouded and how mistaken he was in thinking that his actions would make the problem disappear. Instead, his actions aggravated the situation and were suicidal.

We all have challenges that we have to face and our actions determine and shape who we are.

Our actions often endanger our own safety as well as that of others around us. It is imperative to take a quiet moment alone, recognize the problem and then seek help as soon as practically possible.

We are often told that tough problems do not last, but tough people do. Charlie’s story teaches us all not to think ONLY about our own personal

safety, but that of others too.

The Personal Story of Safety

The Decision Tree Model

Swellendam Flying ClubOVERVIEW AND HISTORY OF THE CLUB

The Swellengrebel Flying Club is based at the Hendrik Swellen-grebel Airfield, 5nm SE of the historic town of Swellendam, on the border of the Overberg/South Cape regions.

The airstrip was established during the Second World War as an emer-gency base for coastal patrol aircraft, but became derelict after the war. During 1956 the airstrip was rebuilt by the Swellendam Municipality at the request of various role players, such as the Red Cross, Owen Air and the Cape Aero Club.The Swellengrebel Flying Club was subsequently founded in 1958 by local flying enthusiasts, and the Club has since managed the Airfield on behalf of the municipality. In 1995 it became clear that the future of the Airfield was in jeopardy, due to the lack of funds to maintain the facility. The Club approached the municipality and bought the land from them, with the undertaking that the Club will maintain the Airfield as a regis-tered Airfield. The Club then made all unused land around the Airfield available to their neighbor, the Bontebok National Park, to manage the land on their behalf.

The objectives of the Club are to promote safe flying activities and to provide flying training for its members. The proximity of the Langeberg mountain range offers good soaring conditions and the Club has trained many glider pilots that went on to become commercial pilots, and even airline transport pilots .The Club has a small membership, but some of the founder members still frequent the clubhouse and offer their advice to new members.

Club chairman:Marius Heyneman

A Scenery view of the airfield

Services offered:Restrooms available,Fuel: AVGAS, with prior arrangement.

P.O. Box 125Swellendam 6740Tel: 028 514 2010Fax: 028 514 1105

email: [email protected]

Useful Information:

Frequency: 114.4 MHz

Airfield Designator: FASX

Coordinates: S 34 03 00 E20 29 00,

Runway designations: Automatic lighting 15/33 Tarred; ( 1003m by 12 m) , and 06/24

Grass (548m by 45m) FASX;

Pressure Altitude: 407 ft.

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ACCIDENT CASE STUDY 1.ACCIDENT CASE STUDY 1.

The laws of physics can be very unforgiving if one is not careful. Those of us who are lucky enough to survive the scourge of these laws should be bold enough to share their experiences and offer some advice.With that said, the case study below begs the question “Are we learning?” It is often said that most accidents could have been avoided and below is a testimony of this.

Luckily enough, no one was fatally wounded (two persons on board) and furthermore, this could have had dire consequences for our safety figures, which we toil so hard to maintain and bring to acceptable levels.

After all; safety is not only about sur-vival; it is also about honest culture.

Put SAFETY FIRST and be SAFE.

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“Experience is a jewel, and should be treated as such…” W.Shakespeare.

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(Article courtesy: Accident and Incident Investigation Department, SACAA)Are we learning?

(011) 545 1000 l [email protected] l www.caa.co.za

Reporting a pilot can save his life...

Confidential AvAvA iation Hazazaz rd Reportrtr ing Sy

sysyte

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ACCIDENT CASE STUDY 2.

2ACCIDENT CASE STUDY 2.

ACCIDENT REPORT: EXECUTIVE SUMMARYACCIDENT REPORT: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Purpose of the Investigation:

In terms of Regulation 12.03.1 of the Civil Aviation Regulations (1997), this report was compiled in the interest of the promotion of aviation safety and the reduction of the risk of aviation accidents or incidents and not to establish

legal liability.

Disclaimer:This report is given without prejudice to the rights of the CAA, which are reserved.

Aircraft InformationThe airplane was a Piper PA28R-200, which is a single-engine, four-occupant capacity, low wing type, and with fixed tricycle landing gear.

Pilot’s InformationTotal Hours 113.4Total Past 90 Days 20.9Total on Type Past 90 Days 19.5Total on Type 19.5

Location of accidentNext to Germiston Golf Course in a stream (GPS co-ordinates: S 26º 13.896’ E 028º 08.666’).

Number of persons killed: 3

FACTUAL INFORMATION:History of FlightThe aircraft took off from runway 35 on a local visual flight rules (VFR) pri-vate flight from Rand Aerodrome. There were three occupants on board and the weather was CAVOK, 340/10kts, temperature 23C.

Immediately after being airborne and while overhead the golf course; the air-craft appeared to be climbing slow and low. It then followed that the aircraft was observed losing altitude in the vicinity of the golf course.

The left-hand wing collided with trees and separated from the aircraft. The air-craft crashed and came to a halt in a shallow stream. A post-impact fire ensued but was limited to the engine, fire wall, and the front of the cabin.The pilot and front-seat passenger were injured and taken to hospital. The pas-senger in the rear was fatally injured at the accident site. The pilot-in-command and the front-seat passenger were both transferred to hospital by the emergency services and unfortunately both of them succumbed to their injuries later in that week.

AnalysisThe aircraft lifted off adjacent to the fire station, which is approximately 1000 ft less than specified in the POH for take-off distance. The distance from the threshold of runway 35 to the point of the runway adjacent to the fire station is approximately 3 123 ft.The temperature recorded for the day was 23ºC, which may have not seemed that high to the pilot, as temperatures at Rand Aerodrome can get much higher than that in the summer months.

The density altitude was calculated utilizing the airport elevation of 5 483 ft, an outside air temperature (OAT) of 23ºC, a QNH of 1023, and a dew point temperature of 1ºC.

The result was a density altitude of 7 404 ft. Take-off distance to clear a 50 ft obstacle at the density altitude, was calculated to be 4200ft utilizing the take-off distance vs. density altitude charts provided in the POH, which assume a max

gross weight of 2 600 lbs and 25º flaps.

The best rate of climb was found to be 520 ft per minute, utilizing the climb per-formance vs. density altitude chart in the POH, which assumes a max gross weight of 2 600 lbs, zero flaps and gear retracted. The Piper Cherokee POH states: “The best rate of climb airspeed at gross weight is 95 mph. At lighter than gross weight, these speeds are reduced.” The published stall table lists the stall speed at zero degrees angle of bank and flaps down as 64 mph and the published maximum rate of climb at sea level is 910 ft per minute.

The aircraft experienced a decreased rate of climb as it approached the tree line at the end of the runway. In an attempt to clear the tall trees at the end of the runway, the pilot would have had to pull back on the aircraft’s controls, which would have caused a further decay in the rate of climb as this would increase the angle of attack,thus decaying the air speed.

Probable Cause/sThe aircraft was rotated too early during the take-off roll, causing it to gain insuf-ficient speed, which resulted in the aircraft entering into a stall.

Contributory remark:The pilot rotated at an insufficient take-off distance as a result of high density altitude.

Safety RecommendationPilots should pay particular attention to the density altitude and the appropriate performance charts in the airplane flight manual (AFM) or the pilot operating handbook.

Pilots are also being alerted to the fact that even though the surrounding terrain may look wide open and relatively flat, on a typical summer day, some light airplanes could be at, or close to their service ceiling before they even leave the ground.

Remember that no summer day is standard (FAA-P-8740-2 AFS-800-0478).

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Above: Aircraft fuselage wreckage

The Dynamics and Dimensions of the Confidential Aviation Hazards Reporting System, (CAHRS).

The CAHRS is a non punitive system within the SACAA whose main ob-jective is to proactively identify hazard trends before they become ac-cidents which and compromise the safety of our skies.

This System is a statutory tool and is gazetted under the Civil Aviation Regulations, (CARs) Part 12.01.8.

South Africa is a member State to ICAO and as such, a member state to ICASS; (International Confidential Aviation Safety System) which is in line with the Safety Management System and therefore has to conform to the principles of this vital; confidential and non-punitive system in order to improve the level of safety and to recommend both the corrective and mitigating measures.

Many other countries that are also member states of ICAO has embraced and realised their positive safety records through such system as this one. For instance: In South Africa we call it CAHRS, in the US it is called Avia-tion Safety Reporting System, (ASRS) and in UK it is called CHIRP.

The benefits of having such systems in place are far greater; not only to ensure that our skies are safer, but to also places our country and the entire aviation industry safety trends among the best around the world. The system guarantees full confidentiality; non disclosure and the protec-tion of the identity of the Source/ Reporter. It is also non prejudice and safeguarding of information is ensured.

In order to promote and encourage full utilisation of this system; the CAHRS section will be embarking on a promotional and educational exercise to ensure that the public as well as the aviation community is aware of the system and understands the benefits of using it.

The past few years has been very challenging due to trends and occur-rences within General Aviation, Aircraft Training Organisations, Flying clubs, Chartered operations, Crop Sprayers and others. Analytic findings were established with safety taking the centre stage; which was over-riding safety concerns and this led to latent organisational and individ-ual factors as outlined in the popular safety model: “The Swiss-Cheese model”.

We therefore urge you all out there to join us in this partnership towards making aviation safer; and realise the full meaning of the word TEAM, (Together Each Achieves More).

Some of the hazards that can be reported through CAHRS include: • Airspace Violations• Sub-standard training procedures • Low level and hazardous flying• Disregard of regulations• Unsupervised ATC Trainees executing their duties without being

monitored for proficiency.• Overloaded aircraft above the takeoff weight and balance limit

Who may report hazards?

Anyone who notices a hazard within their working environment, including members of the public who notices any hazardous flying behaviour in our airspace.

Where to report?

To report a hazard; access and submit forms and general enquiries; the CAHRS section can be contacted on:

CAHRS Department-AIIDPrivate Bag x73Halfway House1685Tel: 011 545 1242 ( Administrator)FAX: 011 545 1453 Email: [email protected]; [email protected]

Website: www.caa.co.za

Some Safety Hazards:

THE CONFIDENTIAL AVIATION HAZARD REPORTING SYSTEM

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“...to provide States and industry with a clear understanding of how unmanned aircraft systems will be

addressed within the ICAO framework...”

The first and inaugural meeting of the ICAO Unmanned Aircraft Sys-tems Study Group (UASSG/1) was held at the ICAO Headquarters in Montreal from 7 to 10 April 2008.

Recently, the ICAO UASSG/4 Meeting took place in South Africa in Feb-ruary 2010 at the CSIR`s Knowledge Commons and was a resounding success. The relentless drive and participation of members of the Department Of Transport, SACAA staff including the Certification, Airworthiness and Safety and Security Promotions divisions should be acknowledged. Special words of appreciation go to the professional support from the SACAA Communications Team, who in particular elevated and projected the event to its deserved world-class status.Particular appreciation should, of course, be extended to the CSIR, who provided the venue at no cost, as well as the wonderful demonstration of the CSIR`s Systems Integrator display.Furthermore, acknowledgement should be given for the commitment dis-played by the local UAS fraternity and in particular the AMD, for fund-ing the event and their meaningful contribution towards the success of this important meeting.We would also like to thank the dignitaries who graced the opening and closing of the meeting for their worthy speeches which emphasized and drove home the purpose and eagerly awaited outcomes of the meeting. We are currently awaiting the official report regarding the meeting from the ICAO secretariat.

ICAO UAS Circular

The UAS Study Group is expected to deliver the ICAO UAS Circular. This is an overview document describing developments within ICAO leading towards a regulatory framework for unmanned aircraft systems. It is the intention of the document to provide States and industry with a clear understanding of how unmanned aircraft systems will be ad-dressed within the ICAO framework and where possible, with explana-tory notes on many of the issues identified to date.

Appendix 5 to Annex 2

Whilst the Annexes to the convention provide the Standards and Rec-ommended Practices (SARPs) for manned aircraft operations, in some instances, some of these SARPS are also applicable to UAS operations. However, they do not address all the differences, capabilities and limi-tations between manned and unmanned aircraft operations. Eventually the Annexes will be amended to address these deficiencies. In the interim, the purpose of this Appendix is to provide the conditions under which international UAS operations may be authorized.

Implications

This appendix will oblige Contracting States to issue approvals as pro-vided for in the said appendix and in accordance with the State`s regu-lations as applied to manned platforms. Our UAS Interim Policy will be a valuable tool, as this will provide us with some form of reference in the absence of applicable UAS regulations. -.Whilst we are aware of the challenges ahead (in terms of the complex-ity of the technology that is driving UAS) the SACAA`s technological ca-pacity to oversee this new thematic area is very limited. There is a need to engage in the technical research that is pertinent to the SAFE integra-tion of UAS into our national airspace at an early stage. The reason for pursuing this approach is informed by the fact that these technological solutions would eventually be presented to the SACAA for Airworthiness Certification Approval. Examples of such pertinent technologies are:

I) Detect and AvoidII) Spectrum integrityIII) Semi-autonomous flight and many such transitional situationsIV) Components like System on Chip (SOC)V) Micro-Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS)VI) Advances in nanotechnologies, structural morphing, integrated and lended miniature sensorsVII) Unconventional power sources including solar and bio-chemical derivatives.

From the examples given above, it can be agreed that the challenges ahead are indeed steep and need to be met with imaginative deter-mination.

Remotely Piloted Vehicles or UAS: The Way ForwardICAO UASSG/4 Meeting

ICAO UAV Study Group

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“...to provide States and industry with a clear understanding of how unmanned aircraft systems will be

addressed within the ICAO framework...”

Civil Aviation SafetyAn Account of ACCIDENTS STATISTICS and ANALYSIS

The statistics show a general decline in accidents. In fact 2009 has been the best year compared to the past 5 years, 2008 being the worst year with a total of 190 reported accidents. The decline in

the aircraft accidents can be attributed to various factors. Number of fatal Accidents

Again we see a huge decline in fatal accidents in 2009. 2008 has been the worst year with October accounting for 7 fatal accidents. November and December 2009 has been the worst months for fatal accidents with each month accounting for 3 accidents.

The graph below shows combined accidents statistics for the past 5 years.

Number of fatalities

Although 2008 was the worst year in terms accidents with a total of 94 fatalities, September and October of the same year were the worst months. It is a relief to see that 2009 has been the best year by far in comparison with the past 5 years. We only had 28 fatalities (3 occurred outside SA Boarders).

Sports and recreation Accidents

We again see a decline in the NTCA accidents, 2005 was the worst year and 2009 was the best year with a total of 43 accidents. It is interesting to note that the sports and recreation aircraft register has grown by 2.5 % and yet there is a drastic decline in the rate of accidents.

Where are we?

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Periodical analysis and comparisons.

Oversight

The South African Civil Aviation Authority has increased its oversight ca-pacity. This was done by obtaining more qualified personnel and train-ing. Air Traffic Movements

The air traffic movements (Take-offs and landings) (recorded in mainly ACSA airports) has decreased in 2009 compared to 2008 thus far. This means that we had less aviation activities in 2009 compared to 2008. Economic Recession

The economic recession may have been one major reason for the re-corded decline in aviation activity. This means less flying by the general public and less aviation training activities. This also may have indirectly lead to the reduction to the spate of aviation accidents.

Industry’s Safety Initiatives

The SACAA together with the aviation industry have introduced several initiatives to ensure aviation safety. One of these initiatives is the GASI (General Aviation Safety Initiative) which is responsible for aviation safety matters in the General Aviation Area.

RAASA

Recreation Aviation Administration of SA (RAASA), was also formed as part of the SACAA’s safety initiatives to improve the level of aviation safety and oversight, particularly in the general aviation sector. The idea of designating a body comprising of the very industry it must oversee, has been taking shape in many countries. This model has been in existence in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, the Czech Republic and Europe. Whilst the functions assigned to a designated body are contained in the Civil Aviation Regulations (CARS), the CAA added some other functions; these include oversight over Special Air Events, Aerobatic ratings, Dis-play authorisations and oversight over Model Aircraft operations.

The designated functions also include the establishment and determina-tion of both safety and airworthiness standards, the issuing of the newly introduced National Pilot License and Authority- to-fly permits, serve on the CAA consultative forums such as CARCOM and NASCOM, monitoring compliance with regulations, and the Approved Person scheme.

Meaningful initiatives such as this go a long way in ensuring a safe avia-

tion environment.

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Accidents per operation type 2009

Accidents per province 2009

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Across1. They are used on the leading edge of a wing to improve lift.

5. Air drag, or the opposition of the air to being displaced by the for-ward movement of an aeroplane.

9. A specially shaped nose to enclose an engine.

10. A rotation of an aircraft around the longitudinal axis. This effect is produced by the ailerons.

12. The science or study of the forces acting on an aircraft in motion.

Down2. Ailerons consisting of simple strips along the full length of the wing trailing edge.

3. The fixed forward portion of the vertical tail surfaces.

4. Yaw control is provided by the rudder.

5. The part of a wing where it meets the fuselage.

6. Is used on an airplane to control the pitch.

7. An assembly of radially disposed blades with an airfoil shape that when rotated in air produce thrust.

8. Weight carried by an airplane to increase the Wing Loading or adjust the center of gravity.

11. A wood tube or strip that extends rearward from the wings or from a short fuselage to support the tail surfaces.

crossword solutions on page 14

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CALENDARaviation events

23 - 28 March FIDAE International Air and Space Fair BicentenarySantiago-Chile Website: www.FIDAE.cl

9 - 11 April SAA Fly-in to ZebulaAll pilots welcome-booking essential

Chris Potgieter 083 314 1669/ Paul Weich 083 290 6525

8 - 11 April AERO Friedrichshafen/Germanye-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.aero.friedrichshafen.com

16 - 18 April National Rally Championships 2nd leg

Mary de klerk e-mail: [email protected]

17 April Parys Wings and WheelsPierre Boulogne 082 686 7209 email:[email protected]

18 April Sport Aerobatics’ ClubFree State Regional contest - Parys

Annie Boon e-mail: [email protected]

23 - 25 April Annual Cirrus Migration/ZebulaAndy Currin 082 499 1984

e-mail: [email protected]

1 May Polokwane AirshowAmanda Nooll 082 665 1505


14 - 16 May Carvanon fly-inRob 083 261 8337/James 078 387 4322

15 May Middelburg Airshow & Aerobatics ShowdownRichard Lovett 082 771 8775e-mail: pegasus@cybertrade

21 - 23 Battlefields’ annual fly-inRhoda/Raymond 034 218 1641


23 May Grand Rand AirshowAnton Kruger 011 827 8884


27 - 30 May President’s Trophy Air RaceHosted by the Rustenburg Flying Club

Albert de Witte 083 628 5492e-mail: [email protected]

29 May Thabazimbi AirshowCasperWeinhold 083 520 9634


29 May Margate Beach AirshowVicky Wentzel 082 812 7944


4 - 9 June Sport Aerobatics Club - AWC training Camp/LadysmithAnnie Boon email: [email protected]

10 - 13 June Zimbabwe Sun and Fun Rally Melanie Cooper email: [email protected]

10 - 13 June Sport Aerobatics Club - Nationals/LadysmithAnnie Boon email: [email protected]

25 - 27 June AeroExportThe Only Major General Aviation Exhibition in the UK

Wycombe Air Park Contact Alex Aylinge-mail: [email protected]

26 June Klerksdop AirshowCliff Lotter 082 855 5550


3 - 4 July Durban Wings’ Club AirshowStuart Low 031 563 5280


10 - 11 July Flying Legends/Duxford, UKFighter Collection

Website-http://fighter-collection.com/pages.php

17 - 18 July Royal International Air Tattoo RAF FairfordGloucestershirre, UK

e-mail: [email protected]: www.airtattoo.com

19 - 25 July Farnborough International Airshowe-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.farnborough .com

Crossword solutionsdown: 2.strip ailerons 3.fin 4.yaw control 5.root 6.elavator 7. propeller 8.ballast 11.boom

across: 1.slats 5.resistance 9.cowling 10.roll 12.aerodynamics

Tel: 011 545 1000website: www.caa.co.za

aviation Safety beginS with you

accident statistics - sacaa

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