chperplt
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http://www.airdisaster.com/news/0103/28/news.shtml
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government ordered emergency inspections on Monday of Beech 1900 commuter planes, and told airlines to weigh passengers and bags before they are loaded aboard certain smaller aircraft.
The steps announced by the Federal Aviation Administration stem from the investigation of a US Airways commuter flight that crashed shortly after takeoff in North Carolina this month that killed 21 people.
While it will be at least months before the government determines the cause of the Jan. 8 crash of Flight 5481, investigators are focusing on the aircraft's tail controls and weight.
The FAA ordered seven airlines that operate more than 300 Beech 1900-series planes to immediately inspect the elevator control system. Elevators are panels on the horizontal portion of the tail that move up and down to help control the angle of flight or pitch.
Investigators said the doomed flight operated by Air Midwest took off, then ascended at an abnormally steep rate before rolling and plunging to the ground at Charlotte-Douglas airport. All 19 passengers and two crew were killed.
Regulators said there was no indication of any problem with the Beech 1900 fleet, but they want to make sure that elevators are adjusted properly so they have a full range of motion. The FAA said an improperly rigged elevator system could cause the crew to lose control of the plane.
The order grew out of tests conducted last week with Raytheon Co., the Beech 1900 manufacturer, and the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash.
"These aircraft are safe but we want to make sure we check them," said Ron Wojnar, the FAA's deputy director of aircraft certification.
Mesa Air Group, the parent of Air Midwest, found no problems in post-crash checks of its Beech 1900 planes. Still, the carrier will have to perform the new inspections.
In a separate notice, the FAA ordered 24 airlines to conduct new weight tests on passenger and bag loads for aircraft carrying between 10 and 19 passengers.
Flight 5481 crash investigators want to know whether the plane was too heavy and whether its passenger and baggage load was properly distributed. They also are investigating whether the load had anything to do with the safe operation of the elevator system.
The FAA is requiring carriers to weigh passengers and baggage separately on a fraction of flights over the next month to validate their weight and balance procedures.
The FAA will use this sampling and other analyzes to determine if government standards, which have not been updated since 1995, should be changed.
For example, current standards assume the average male passenger and one carry-on bag weighs 180 pounds in summer and 185 in winter, accounting for extra clothes. The average weight of checked baggage is 25 pounds.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government ordered emergency inspections on Monday of Beech 1900 commuter planes, and told airlines to weigh passengers and bags before they are loaded aboard certain smaller aircraft.
The steps announced by the Federal Aviation Administration stem from the investigation of a US Airways commuter flight that crashed shortly after takeoff in North Carolina this month that killed 21 people.
While it will be at least months before the government determines the cause of the Jan. 8 crash of Flight 5481, investigators are focusing on the aircraft's tail controls and weight.
The FAA ordered seven airlines that operate more than 300 Beech 1900-series planes to immediately inspect the elevator control system. Elevators are panels on the horizontal portion of the tail that move up and down to help control the angle of flight or pitch.
Investigators said the doomed flight operated by Air Midwest took off, then ascended at an abnormally steep rate before rolling and plunging to the ground at Charlotte-Douglas airport. All 19 passengers and two crew were killed.
Regulators said there was no indication of any problem with the Beech 1900 fleet, but they want to make sure that elevators are adjusted properly so they have a full range of motion. The FAA said an improperly rigged elevator system could cause the crew to lose control of the plane.
The order grew out of tests conducted last week with Raytheon Co., the Beech 1900 manufacturer, and the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash.
"These aircraft are safe but we want to make sure we check them," said Ron Wojnar, the FAA's deputy director of aircraft certification.
Mesa Air Group, the parent of Air Midwest, found no problems in post-crash checks of its Beech 1900 planes. Still, the carrier will have to perform the new inspections.
In a separate notice, the FAA ordered 24 airlines to conduct new weight tests on passenger and bag loads for aircraft carrying between 10 and 19 passengers.
Flight 5481 crash investigators want to know whether the plane was too heavy and whether its passenger and baggage load was properly distributed. They also are investigating whether the load had anything to do with the safe operation of the elevator system.
The FAA is requiring carriers to weigh passengers and baggage separately on a fraction of flights over the next month to validate their weight and balance procedures.
The FAA will use this sampling and other analyzes to determine if government standards, which have not been updated since 1995, should be changed.
For example, current standards assume the average male passenger and one carry-on bag weighs 180 pounds in summer and 185 in winter, accounting for extra clothes. The average weight of checked baggage is 25 pounds.
