Incident Overview

Date: Friday 6 December 2013
Aircraft Type: Embraer ERJ-170LR (ERJ-170-100 LR)
Owner/operator: Petro Air
Registration Number: 5A-SOC
Location: Tripoli-Mitiga International Airport (MJI/HLLM) – ÿ Libya
Phase of Flight: Landing
Status: Substantial
Casualties: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3
Component Affected: The ADG (RAM Air Turbine RAT) and the aircraft’s electrical systems.The ADG (RAM Air Turbine RAT) and the aircraft’s electrical systems.
Investigating Agency: CAA LibyaCAA Libya
Category: Accident
On October 26, 2023, during a test flight for the deployment and testing of the ADG (RAM Air Turbine RAT), an aviation incident occurred. The aircraft departed runway 29, initially climbing to 7000 feet, and then descended to 3000 feet to initiate the ADG test. The crew consisted of the captain, pilot, and first officer, with the ground engineer supervising. The ADG was deployed, and the engineer confirmed it was functioning as expected. However, the crew failed to adhere to established procedures, specifically CRM, crew cooperation, and mutual understanding. The pilot flying deviated from the planned flight path and approach, failing to adequately monitor the situation. The first officer and engineer did not draw attention to these deviations, leading to the aircraft veering off the runway. The ADG ceased providing power below 130 KIAS, resulting in the aircraft slowing down and ultimately stopping to the right of the runway edge. The incident was caused by the crew’s failure to follow established procedures and lack of coordination, specifically a failure to return the integrated drive generators (IDGs) to normal operation.On October 26, 2023, during a test flight for the deployment and testing of the ADG (RAM Air Turbine RAT), an aviation incident occurred. The aircraft departed runway 29, initially climbing to 7000 feet, and then descended to 3000 feet to initiate the ADG test. The crew consisted of the captain, pilot, and first officer, with the ground engineer supervising. The ADG was deployed, and the engineer confirmed it was functioning as expected. However, the crew failed to adhere to established procedures, specifically CRM, crew cooperation, and mutual understanding. The pilot flying deviated from the planned flight path and approach, failing to adequately monitor the situation. The first officer and engineer did not draw attention to these deviations, leading to the aircraft veering off the runway. The ADG ceased providing power below 130 KIAS, resulting in the aircraft slowing down and ultimately stopping to the right of the runway edge. The incident was caused by the crew’s failure to follow established procedures and lack of coordination, specifically a failure to return the integrated drive generators (IDGs) to normal operation.

Description

The CAA reported the aircraft was departing for a test flight, during which the Air Driven Generator (ADG, also known as RAM Air Turbine RAT) was to be deployed and tested. The crew consisted of the captain (62, ATPL, 17,157 hours total), pilot flying, the first officer (29, CPL, 1,100 hours total), pilot monitoring, and a ground engineer responsible to supervise the test without interfering with the tasks of the flight crew. The aircraft departed runway 29 in visual meteorologic conditions, initially climbed to 7000 feet, then descended to 3000 feet to begin the test of the ADG. Integrated Drive Generators 1 and 2 as well as the batteries were disconnected, the ADG deployed properly, the engineer confirmed the device was working as expected. The aircraft continued to operate in this configuration with the ADG being the only source of electrical power however. The crew established visual contact with the runway and proceeded to land on runway 29 still with the ADG as the only source of electricity on board. The aircraft touched down within the touch down zone, the ADG ceased providing electrical power causing the aircraft to veer right off the runway. The aircraft came to a stop to the right of the right runway edge about 1650 meters down the runway. There were no injuries. The aircraft sustained substantial damage including the fracture of the nose wheel steering mechanism, ripples in the forward fuselage of the aircraft as well as dirt and stones causing damage to both engines. The CAA analysed that following the successful test of the ADG the crew respective the engineer should have returned the aircraft to normal operating conditions by re-engaging at least one of the IDGs, neither crew nor engineer did return the IDGs however. With only the ADG supplying power, the ADG ceasing to deliver power below 130 KIAS, the aircraft lost all electrical power at 196 feet AGL on final approach when the aircraft slowed through 130 KIAS stopping both flight data and cockpit voice recorders at that point and making it impossible to control the aircraft to keep it on the runway. – Cause: “The flight crew failed to adhere to the basic principles of Cockpit Resource Management (CRM), crew cooperation and mutual understanding sharing tasks to succeed landing the aircraft safely. The first officer and engineer present failed to draw the attention of the pilot flying to deviations from the planned procedures and to the approach to danger.”

Source of Information

https://caa.gov.ly/eng/wp-content/uploads/2016/pdf/5A-SOC-2013-Final.pdfhttps://caa.gov.ly/eng/wp-content/uploads/2016/pdf/5A-SOC-2013-Final.pdf

Primary Cause

Failure to adhere to established procedures, particularly CRM, crew cooperation, and mutual understanding, leading to deviations from the planned flight path and approach.Failure to adhere to established procedures, particularly CRM, crew cooperation, and mutual understanding, leading to deviations from the planned flight path and approach.

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