French investigation into 2003 UTA crash criticises safety oversight and disorganisation between parties involved
Investigators analysing the crash of a Union des Transports Africains (UTA) Boeing 727-200Adv in Benin a year ago have concluded that the aircraft would have been able to take off despite being overloaded, if the crew had been given accurate weight and balance information.
In a report heavily criticising the disorganisation between various parties involved and a lack of safety oversight by authorities, French air accident agency BEA says that this incomplete knowledge led to the trijet being unable to climb properly during departure.
Operating as flight GIH141 from Cotonou to Beirut, the 727 (3X-GDO) took 7s to unstick after rotation from a relatively short runway in hot weather and was able only to climb at a shallow angle. It struck a building and crashed off the coast killing all but 22 of around 160 occupants believed to have been on board.
The BEA report into the 25 December 2003 accident says the loading of passengers and freight had been carried out with "much confusion". It says "incomplete information on the loading had been provided to the [aircraft] commander during flight preparation. As the freight hold had been filled, [the aircraft] had a [balance situation] for which the crew had not compensated with the stabiliser because they had not been informed about the loading of this compartment."
The report stresses that, although the aircraft was excessively laden, it could have taken off if the crew had been able to compensate. "Investigators met difficulties in obtaining precise information, usually gathered during the first few days of a probe, and official documents relating to the aircraft and the flight," says the BEA.
It adds: "This investigation has shown the importance to safety of, on one hand, good organisation by the [airline management] and, on the other, controls imposed by national authorities before and after approval of [a carrier's owner].
"It is difficult to carry out such controls in a rigorous way in the absence of precise regulation."
DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW / LONDON
Source: Flight International
