Regulators urged to restrict Cessna aircraft's operations after series of incidents
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is recommending that regulators ban Canadian Cessna 208, 208A and 208B Caravan operations when icing levels are forecast as moderate or worse. It also wants pilots who encounter icing to maintain a minimum 120kt (220km/h) airspeed and to exit the conditions when the aircraft is unable to maintain that speed.
The TSB is still investigating the 6 October 2005 fatal crash of a 208B Caravan operated by Morningstar Air Express, when the lone pilot left Winnipeg for Thunder Bay, Ontario with a 1,250kg (2,753lb) payload. Soon after departure, the aircraft began to descend and the pilot requested an immediate return to Winnipeg "due to icing conditions", according to the report.
After a "very steep descent", the aircraft crashed on to railway tracks in the city, killing the pilot.
Investigators have reviewed 19 Caravan incidents from 1990 to 2005 that resulted in 42 fatalities and four serious injuries, and are taking a similar line to the US National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration after reviews of Cessna 208 accidents in the USA.
Cessna has launched a website to raise awareness of the procedures in the pilot's handbook and has been working with the Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association and the FAA on training to update pilots on operations in icing.
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Cessna is raising awareness of icing procedures for the Caravan |
Source: Flight International
