A REPORT into the Air Niugini cargo plane accident on Oct 19 in Madang reveals it was loaded with 330 cartons of cigarettes which had not been weighed prior to loading.
The cargo belonged to British American Tobacco. The aircraft failed to take off and ran off the runway, based on an assumption that the total load was 3,710kg (as calculated in the report), the PNG Accident Commission preliminary report released yesterday, said. “The operator’s cargo supervisor stated after the accident that PXY had been loaded on the assumption that each carton weighed 12kg, but that the cartons had not been weighed before they were loaded onto the aircraft,” the report said. The Avions de Transport Regional ATR42-320 freighter, registered P2-PXY, was taxiing to depart from the runway bound for Tabubil, via Mt Hagen, when the accident occurred. There were three people on board, the pilot-in-command, first officer and a DHC-8 captain on board whose function was to provide guidance during the approach into Tabubil. The report said the pilot-in-command reported later that the controls felt very heavy in pitch and he could not pull the control column back in the normal manner. “Flight data recorder information indicated that after approximately two seconds, the pilot-in-command aborted the takeoff and selected full reverse thrust, and he reported later that he had applied full braking,” it said. “It was not possible to stop the aircraft before the end of the runway and it continued over the embankment at the end of the runway and the right wing struck the perimeter fence. This caused the aircraft to yaw to the right and it entered a creek beyond the perimeter fence at approximately 45 degrees to its direction of movement. “The right outboard wing section caught fire and the flight crew escaped through the hatch in the cockpit roof. “The pilot-in-command, who was the last to remain on board, discharged the fire extinguishers in each engine and switched off the battery master switch before leaving the aircraft. “The Madang Airport Fire and Rescue Service responded promptly and a fire truck began to spray the fire in the right wing with foam and water.” PNG Facts / The National Comments are closed.
|
Papua New Guinea Breaking NewsPapua New Guinea daily News updates Let Your Voice be heard: Submit your news articles, commentaries, letters , Photos, Media Releases etc to us on this email: pngfacts@gmail.com
Mining & PetroleumTop Links |