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Old 5th May 2017, 03:27 PM
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Philip Argy Philip Argy is offline
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: North Strathfield
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Exclamation Second report confirms tail strength concerns

The ATSB has issued a second interim report confirming its concerns about the tail strength of ATR 72s in the event of a pitch disconnect:

In-flight pitch disconnect involving ATR 72 aircraft, VH-FVR, 47 km WSW of Sydney Airport, NSW on 20 February 2014

If nothing is done in the next 90 days I'd say there's a possibility that the aircraft could have its certification withdrawn - pretty serious stuff!

Here's an extract:

Quote:
During the continued investigation of the occurrence, the ATSB has obtained an increased understanding of the factors behind this previously identified safety issue. This increased understanding has identified that there are transient elevator deflections during a pitch disconnect event that could lead to aerodynamic loads that could exceed the strength of the aircraft structure.
The ATSB also found that these transient elevator deflections were not identified, and therefore not considered in the engineering justification documents completed during the aircraft type’s original certification process. The ATSB considers that the potential consequences are sufficiently important to release a further interim report prior to completion of the final investigation report.
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Last edited by Philip Argy; 5th May 2017 at 03:31 PM. Reason: Added quote
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