Security: MK Takes Risks

In one case, the captain failed to report a landing on the front, an error constitutes a " serious incident ". As a result, the device in question, an ATR72 , made 66 flights before the survey data do not detect an anomaly.

In another case, involving an Airbus 340 , the captain decided to land in a storm. This, while the unit that preceded it has diverted to another airport. The unit had to spend six weeks on site for extensive repairs. Revelations that give the shivers.

We are on 8 November 2012 and the flight MK851 en route to the international airport O.R. Thambo in Johannesburg. Outside, a storm rages. Unlike the aircraft ahead and decided to divert to another airport because of extreme weather conditions, the Airbus A340 maintains its course. It performs two " holds "(expectations) before starting its descent. The aircraft was seriously damaged by hail during landing, so much so that the cockpit windshield is cracked. At the rear, passengers have the fear of their lives. The drivers were also very upset, as was demonstrated by the following the Cockpit Voice Recorder . The captain, Alan Fraser, even forget the protocol that is needed to turn off the navigation lights and landing lights after taking the landing strip and until parking.

Worse, the " technical log "shows that this flight fuel reserves of the aircraft stand at 5.2 tonnes landing, 0.3 ton below the minimum amount recommended by Airbus and without consider the legal amount required for diversion in case the device can not land to its original destination. What could possibly explain the choice to put in Johannesburg despite the weather.

Damages of Rs 63 million

Results of the operation: in addition to windshield, the scanner, which is used to cover the radar needs to be replaced, as well as engine mounts and six nozzles edge. In total, multiple parts must be changed at a cost of over U.S. $ 2 million (Rs 63 million). And that's not counting the loss of income caused by this forced six weeks off and that the cost of maintenance and hangar. Intriguing fact, no investigation at the operational level has been initiated as a result of this " serious incident ", even if Air Mauritius has contacted the Bureau of Investigation and French tests to check whether the aircraft was airworthy.

The cabin crew would not submit a written report on the matter. Asked about the incident, an experienced pilot told us his incomprehension of the many " irregularities "that have marked the flight MK851. " This is unacceptable. He (Editor's note: the commander on board) put the safety of passengers, staff and equipment in danger. Basically, he should bypass the storm by at least 10 nautical miles to avoid extreme turbulence, hail and wind shear. This is one of the basic principles of the profession of airline pilot. But, he went right into it , "he was surprised.

According to our information, said Alan Fraser would not have seen the storm on radar (it would have shown on the screen with a big red spot). But the " post-flight reports "have shown that the radar was working. According to our information, the captain took the road the air just two weeks after the incident, while the mere fact of having underestimated the refuelling could have resulted in a penalty. This is his neighbour, the chief pilot of the A340 , Jeffrey Day, who was to return the unit to Mauritius after the repairs have been done with a lot of second hand parts bought cheaply.

The second " serious incident "in question took place a few months earlier, on 22 January 2012, on the flight MK121 between Mauritius and Rodrigues. Upon landing at the airport Sir Gaëtan Duval, the pilot landed the ATR72 right on the front with a vertical acceleration of 1.205 g. Also known as the "Nose Landing Gear" (NLG), it is not made to withstand the weight of the device but the guide once the rear wheels hit the ground. For some reason known only to him, the captain decided not to report the incident. In an electronic correspondence dated February 2, 2012 and addressed to Caroline Berquier ATR, Roy Aucklood Air Mauritius said that the incident "was not reported" and the unit "flies now."

He also specifies that it is not desirable to keep the aircraft on the ground during the peak tourist season in the absence of a NLG parts. This, after the representative ATR has expressly asked him to keep the part involved in the incident in quarantine: "Know that we maintain our recommendation to place under quarantine NLG shipset in full, until the relevant data have been collected and analyzed by ATR. "Meanwhile, the unit made no less than 66 flights. Malgrécela, the pilot is always stationed at Air Mauritius. "The fact that the plane did not suffer maintenance, despite this serious incident, could have a direct impact on safety," warns Le express interlocutor.

Since the beginning of the year, two incidents occurred ATR, one controlled by the "chief pilot training" of ATR72, Patrick Terhofsteede, which was on a training flight. In the Mandatory Occurrence Report submitted by him after the flight of 18 February 2013, the aircraft would have a "Suspected Threepoint landing" (landing on all three wheels simultaneously). However, in e-mail correspondence on the matter, the Maintenance Control Center Air Mauritius speaks of "nose gear touchdown" (nose wheel). "How is it that a Chief Pilot Training can not tell the difference between three points and a nose landing gear touchdown?" asked our pilot.

A few days earlier, the pilot of flight MK141 had, for its part, made a " hard landing "to 2.46 g. Both aircraft were grounded for several days as a result of these incidents. And both drivers are still in office.

Our interlocutor, these incidents raise questions about the recruitment process of the national airline, including that of foreign pilots. " All these incidents cost the company millions. How does one recruit these drivers? They undergo a psychological test and adequate training or exercises relevant monitoring ? "asks he.

Air Mauritius defends himself by recalling that none of its products has never been involved in an accident.