Investigators claim a mis-set altimeter combined with heavy fog led to the fatal crash of a Let L-410 turboprop during an attempt to land at Yirol in South Sudan. The Ukrainian-registered aircraft (UR-TWO) had been leased from Slav-Air to Juba-based South West Aviation. It was chartered by a company called Baby Air Tours and Travel to fly from Juba to Yirol on 9 September last year, and was transporting 21 passengers and two crew members. South Sudan's ministry of transport indicates the aircraft approached and passed Yirol airfield from the south-east before crossing Lake Yirol – lying some 1,600m beyond the airfield – before circling clockwise, and then crashing into the western side of the lake. Yirol airfield has a single runway, designated 03/21, which is 1,400m in length. But the inquiry says there are no navigation aids to support landings.While the flight-recorder data was unavailable, the inquiry states that examination of the wreckage showed most of the instrument had "frozen in the impact". The altimeter read 1,780ft, it says, and other instruments indicated the aircraft was descending. The elevation of Yirol airfield is approximately 1,430ft. Several other matters were highlighted during the inquiry including the absence of checks on the crew by flight-safety inspectors. The crew did not check the weather briefing before departure, it says, and the operator could not provide a loadsheet.

Source: FlightGlobal

Air Zimbabwe has been barred from operating from South African airports owing to failure to pay debts relating to aeronautical charges. Johannesburg features on the airline's advertised network but Airports Company South Africa says it has "suspended" the airline from its nine airports effective 22 October. It says the carrier is required to settle weekly the debts owed for landing charges, parking and passenger fees along with a partial payment of arrears. The airports operator says it informed Air Zimbabwe on 18 October that it was facing the restriction on its services and that this would remain in place until outstanding payments were received. It states that the airline has been told it "will not be allowed to depart" from the airports. The airports operator has not specified whether this means Air Zimbabwe aircraft are effectively stranded in South Africa. But it says the decision "became necessary", adding: "Suspension of an airline takes place only after considerable engagement with an airline’s management." It has not disclosed the size of the debts owed by the Zimbabwean carrier.

Source: FlightGlobal

US investigators probing the inadvertent landing on a taxiway by a Horizon Air Bombardier Q400 have disclosed that no NOTAM information had been issued warning of inoperative runway lights at the time. The aircraft landed in darkness on a taxiway parallel to runway 06 at Pullman regional airport, Washington, on 29 December 2017. Testing of the runway lighting system carried out at 16:00 local time, nearly 3h before the landing, had indicated that all lights were operational, says the National Transportation Safety Board in a factual update. But it states that heavy rain and snow on the previous day had flooded electrical wiring vaults linked to the lighting system – a situation which was not discovered by airport operations personnel until after the incident. When the Q400 departed Seattle at 17:48 local time there was no NOTAM showing the runway lights being out of service. Cockpit-voice recordings were retrieved but found to be virtually unintelligible owing to broadband noise on one channel which masked almost all other sounds. But the captain testified that the aircraft had been flying in cloud when he attempted to use remote control to intensify the airport lighting. This technique involves repeatedly keying the microphone on the common traffic advisory frequency. When the aircraft exited cloud, the crew fixated on the illuminated taxiway which lay 200ft to the left of runway 06. Further attempts were made by the captain to brighten the lights remotely. "The captain stated he clearly felt he had the runway in sight and the runway lights were on," says the inquiry. "It was just a question of the lights not going up to bright – not to an 'on' setting." It adds that the captain, after checking the landing-gear had deployed, looked out at the airport and saw "nothing but black" except "identifiable pavement that was lit up", and lined up the Q400 with this pavement. Only after the aircraft had entered the flare did the first officer notice blue taxiway lighting. "Right before touchdown he saw that they were on the taxiway," says a summary of the first officer's testimony. "He and the captain were both surprised."

Source: FlightGlobal