David Learmount/LONDON
Airliners operating into European airports are often crewed by pilots with invalid licences, have emergency exits blocked by seats and fly with unsecured cargo in the hold, leaking hydraulics and worn-out tyres, according to a report from the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC).
The catalogue of faults is among the most frequent serious findings listed in the Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircraft (SAFA) report published for the first time since the 37 ECAC member countries began operating the scheme in 1996. Under the system, aircraft and crews are subject to inspection at European airports if the aviation authorities have reason to believe that checks may be warranted.
The report, which covers the 1996-98 period, records that 4,569 reports had been filed by the end of 1998 on the scheme's database which is operated by the Joint Aviation Authorities.
At present, however, ECAC and some of the nations participating in SAFA are reluctant to "name and shame" either airlines or states of registration which appear as persistent offenders.
Analysis of the inspections reveals that 58% were carried out on ECAC-registered aircraft, and 42% on those of non-ECAC countries. About 2,500 of the checks revealed no deficiencies, nearly 1,000 discovered one fault, and about 50 aircraft had seven faults or more.
The SAFA report says that "the more significant deficiencies" found in the flight-deck included non-valid flight-crew licences, the absence of required manuals, or manuals being out of date, and incorrect calculation of load distribution.
In the case of cabin safety, the SAFA inspections reported that the most significant findings related to emergency exits. These included emergency exit path marking "often found partly inoperative" and emergency exits blocked by seats. Leakage of hydraulics, fuel, oil or freight containers, worn-out tyres and inadequately secured cargo were also found. Ultimately, says ECAC, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) can be informed if a state persistently offends and can result in an ICAO safety audit.
Source: Flight International
