Engine Failure caused Mazaruni TGA plane crash - report

Engine Failure caused Mazaruni TGA plane crash – report

Jul 18, 2015 News

A determination has been made into Mazaruni Trans Guyana Airways plane crash, a tragedy which claimed the lives of Canadian Pilot Blake Slater, and Guyanese loader, Dwayne Jacobs, back in January 2014. The announcement from the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) was that engine failure was responsible for bringing the plane down.

A full investigation into the crash of the Trans Guyana Airways Cessna 208B Grand Caravan was launched. Supported by the Transport Safety Board (TSB) of Canada and the National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) of the United States of America (USA) and the aircraft’s engine manufacture, Pratt and Whitney Corp (P&WC), Canada, their full report was released a few days ago.

That investigation, after the engine was stripped and examined by the engine manufacturer, determined that the engine “lost power due to the fracture of one 1^st stage compressor stator vane by fatigue”. Their report went on to reveal that “the fatigue crack originated from a lack of brazing adhesion extending over approximately 0.280 inches along the chord length and 0.050 inches in the direction of the shroud thickness and was located between the leading edge and mid-chord of the vane”.

The analysis of the failed engine by PW&C also led to measures being enacted to ensure that a like accident did not occur again. This included an advisory being issued to all operators of the PT6A-42A to “perform a bore scope inspection of the braze condition on the PT6A – 42A first stage compressor stator assembly”.

The crash occurred shortly after the aircraft departed the Olive Creek aerodrome. The aircraft was carrying seven drums of fuel, equivalent of 2,800 lbs, which was slightly below the maximum weight. It was headed to Imbaimadai on an approximately fifteen minute flight. It was not long before the plane began to experience difficulties.

The cargo moved to the front of the plane, as a result of there being no cargo wall or cargo net separating the load from the passengers. Slater, piloting the aircraft, subsequently radioed a distress signal which was heard by five pilots, including three TGA pilots, who were in the air at the time.

All controlled systems, including the Emergency Locator Transmitter, were in place when the plane took off. However, the transmitter did not go off upon impact in the crash. It took three days of combing the Mazaruni jungle before the bodies of the men could be recovered and returned to Georgetown.

While the transmitter is a requirement of the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA), the device has been known to fail in the past.

As the beacon did not go off and there was no visible smoke from the crash site, rescuers were unable to locate the plane readily. The latitude co-ordinates of the plane, as relayed by the distressed Slater while his plane went down, was used to plot an approximate position for the crash site and Guyana Defence Force (GDF) soldiers were forced to rappel down to gain access to the downed plane.

A post mortem examination on the two bodies showed that Slater died from multiple injuries about the body, while Jacobs succumbed to asphyxiation due to chest injuries, in addition to blunt trauma to the head.

Captain Slater had been with TGA for approximately three years up to the time of his death. He first joined the company as a junior pilot and rose to become the command pilot on the Cessna Grand Caravan. With over 3,000 flying hours to his credit, 2,552 on the Caravan, he had possessed the reputation as a highly disciplined pilot.

Jacobs, on the other hand, had been with TGA for some ten years, joining as a handyman and subsequently being promoted to aircraft loader. The position carried with it responsibility for the safety and security of the cargo.

Recommendations from the report included an improved method of tie down for cargo, better quality tie down straps, the presence of a Flight Operations Officer, relocating the aircraft loader’s seat from behind the pilot to the co-pilot’s seat, upgrading spot tracking devices and possible forced landing sites being identified along shuttle routes and programmed into the GPSs for easy access in the case of emergencies.

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Engine Failure caused Mazaruni TGA plane crash – report

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