Legal Posturing or Legitimate Concern?

"Colgan Air Dash 8-Q400 airplanes like the one that crashed from in-flight icing need to be barred from operating on routes where icing is possible." That's the opening line of the latest missive from representatives with the Nolan Law Firm, calling for the grounding of Bombardier Q400 turboprop regional aircraft similar to the type that crashed February 12 near Buffalo, NY.

As ANN reported, former NTSB chief Jim Hall -- who's now a lawyer with the firm -- made similar statements last week. Hall believes turboprop airliners like the ATR 42 and 72, and the Q400, may suffer from inherent safety issues in icing conditions due to their relatively slow speeds, and the nature of their deicing systems.

In a release issued Monday, the Nolan group added the FAA "cannot assure the public that the [Q400] has been thoroughly tested before approval for airline service, that Colgan Air has the training procedures in place to assure that crews can safely fly in icing conditions, or that a crew of average ability (the FAA standard) can handle meteorological conditions of less-than-severe icing.

"Until answers about the cause of the 12 February 2009 crash can be definitively provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), prudence would dictate not flying these aircraft in icing conditions."

The law firm outlined the following concerns about the downing of Flight 3407, with ANN presents unedited:

• One factor common to all turboprop icing events is sudden wing drop. The uneven build-up of ice on areas of the wing unprotected by de-ice boots may be a factor. Contributing to the danger may be the differential activation of the de-ice boots. Further, the propwash from two engines rotating in the same direction can cause ice to accrete unevenly.
• All of which adds up to an airplane vulnerable to stall prior to reaching published stall speeds or the speed at which lift-producing airflow over the wings is disrupted.
• Further, the control yoke is equipped with a stick shaker to warn the flight crew of approach to stall. This critical safety feature likely did not activate in a timely manner in the Colgan Air crash. If the stick shaker did not activate soon enough to give the crew an opportunity to prevent a stall, the warning was therefore untimely and represents a design defect.
• The crew's correct reaction to stick pusher activation is critical. Reportedly, stick pusher training was not provided to Colgan Air pilots. If this is so, the crews are not adequately trained to handle imminent stalls in icing conditions. Aircraft and crew deficiencies may combine with fatal effect.
• Colgan Air is a new operator of the Dash 8-Q400, which means this is the first winter operating this model for most of the Colgan crews. The amount and type of simulator training and periodic updates on operations in icing conditions is unknown. Other global investigative bodies investigating icing- related mishaps have documented shortcomings in crew training and awareness. Until the NTSB investigation is complete, Colgan crews ought not be permitted to operate this aircraft in icing conditions.
• Most icing-related crashes occur within the conditions prescribed by the FAA for aircraft certification. This being the case, aircraft are regularly dispatched to fly in conditions of less-than-severe icing where they are vulnerable to crashing. For example, the 2005 icing related crash of a Cessna Citation V business jet on approach to Pueblo, CO was not in severe icing.
• For purposes of insuring the safety of the flying public, and until proven otherwise, we need to assume, as is likely the case, that the conditions on 12 February were not "severe" icing. Since airplanes have crashed in icing less than severe, an immediate precautionary halt to operations by Colgan Air of Dash 8-Q400s airplanes in icing conditions is necessary to forestall further tragedy.

"The FAA cannot tell us that this aircraft is safe," said Don Nolan. "The crash of Continental Connection flight 3407 (operated by Colgan Air) is yet another where the air carrier, the industry, and the FAA resort to comforting blandishments about safety and subsequent revelations reveal deep concerns."

Hall added, "The FAA cannot demonstrate the Dash 8-Q400 can be safely operated by Colgan Air within the airplane's certification requirements. For the safety of the flying public, the Q400 turboprops operated by Colgan Air should be barred from operating in icing conditions. Declaring an operation to be safe, in the absence of conclusive proof, is not sufficient."

The Q400 is operated by several regional airlines in the United States, and worldwide. First introduced in commercial service in 1996 as a derivative of the storied DHC-8 series, the type had not been involved in a fatal crash until the downing of Flight 3407.

FMI: www.nolan-law.com, www.ntsb.gov, www.colganair.com