Well, these two stories sure make for an interesting read in the same newsletter... (From today's AINonline)
May 22, 2003
Beech 1900D Maintenance, Weight Focus of Hearing
The Air Midwest Beech 1900D that crashed after taking off from Charlotte-Douglas International Airport in North Carolina on January 8 killing all 21 persons aboard, was the victim of both improper maintenance at a Raytheon Aerospace facility and being over gross weight, according to the NTSB. At a two-day hearing this week, the Safety Board described how a contract mechanic had left too much slack after adjusting the control cables, preventing full control movement of the elevator, and how the actual weight of the twin turboprop was probably nearly 300 pounds over gross, although the crew estimation of 100 pounds under gross was calculated using the FAA’s then prescribed estimates of passenger and baggage weights. Immediately after takeoff the airplane pitched up into a nose-high attitude before it stalled and crashed. The pilots probably could have compensated for the higher weight and being slightly tail heavy, the Safety Board said, but they were unable to lower the nose because of the misadjusted cable. The ill-fated flight was the ninth since the cable maintenance was performed two days earlier, but it was the heaviest and the first since the maintenance in which the load was slightly tail heavy.
Raytheon To Provide Flight Options Maintenance
Flight Options, the second-largest fractional operator behind NetJets, and Raytheon Aircraft Services (RAS) reached an agreement under which RAS will provide all of the maintenance for the operator’s entire fleet. The deal will make Flight Options RAS’ largest customer. RAS will provide the maintenance at more than 20 service centers and additional facilities dedicated to Flight Options maintenance. Under the agreement, all Flight Options mechanics will become RAS employees. The deal initially is for five years and represents a $400 million investment by RAS, according to Flight Options. Of the company’s more than 200 airplanes, about 75 percent are Raytheon Aircraft models. Average age of the Flight Options fleet is nearly 10 years, the oldest average of the three largest fractional providers, according to a recent survey.
