Safety Board Slams Dutch for Airline Crash Report

[Cees Binkhorst]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

Scherpe kritiek uit de USA, maar eindconclusie blijft overeind.
'The investigators remained unanimous about the main conclusion: a
malfunctioning altimeter that caused engines to idle.'

Groet / Cees

May 15, 2010, 9:56 AM ET

Safety Board Slams Dutch for Airline Crash Report
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2010/05/15/safety-board-slams-dutch-for-airline-crash-report/

In the tight-knit world of aviation-crash investigators, experts from
one country rarely go public with criticism of another government’s experts.

But in a recent breach of that tradition, the National Transportation
Safety Board slammed its Dutch counterpart for preparing an allegedly
mistake-riddled draft report of a probe into a Turkish airliner that
crashed last year , killing nine people, while approaching Amsterdam’s
Schiphol airport.

In a sharply worded critique released earlier this month, U.S.
investigators said the Dutch Safety Board initially failed to adequately
consider multiple onboard system failures and the underlying reasons for
pilot lapses. The “omission diminishes the effectiveness of the
[accident] report” and overlooks broader issues related to pilot
awareness and training, according to U.S. officials.

The NTSB even faulted the Dutch for failing to properly differentiate
between the cockpit controls of Boeing and Airbus jets. One section of
the Dutch draft said the Turkish plane was equipped with a system that
issued warnings about an impending stall by vibrating “control
stick(s).” The U.S. response pointed out that Boeing Co. planes “have
control wheels and columns,” while the term “stick” usually refers “to a
different type of control device” found on other makes of planes. Airbus
jets all have modified computer joysticks in their cockpits.

NTSB representatives participated in the investigation along with
manufacturer Boeing and others, but the Dutch led the overall effort.
The final report, issued this month, however, fixed the factual errors
and incorporated most of the FAA’s additional suggestions. The
investigators remained unanimous about the main conclusion: a
malfunctioning altimeter that caused engines to idle.

NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman said the comments were not intended to
embarrass Dutch officals, but rather to highlight “issues that weren’t
fully addressed” in the draft. Dutch offiicials weren’t immediately
available for comment.

In the past, British aviation investigators threatened to stop sharing
some information with the NTSB after complaining that U.S. officials
prematurely released details about two other crashes. That dustup didn’t
result in a serious break, though the latest disclosures could prompt
other governments to be more leery of working with the U.S. on future
airliner crashes.

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