Faulty design blamed for air crash
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Your support makes all the difference.A DESIGN fault in an aircraft part that had proved troublesome for many years caused the Amsterdam air disaster in which an El Al cargo Boeing 747 smashed into a block of flats killing 43 people on the ground and the four air crew, Dutch air-safety investigators have concluded.
The Dutch Aviation Safety Board also criticised emergency training of pilots and air-traffic controllers.
The immediate cause of the October 1992 crash was metal fatigue in part of the pylon holding on the right-hand inner engine when the jet, which had just taken off from Schipol airport, reached a height of 6,500ft. Failure of the engine mountings caused the inner right engine to fall off and it knocked off the neighbouring engine.
When the pilots attempted a 360-degree turn to reduce height, they lost control and the jet hit an apartment block in Bijlmer, Amsterdam.
The investigators conclude there should be more training of pilots and air-traffic controllers to ensure that they take account of 'not only the safety of airplane passengers but also the risk to third parties especially (in) residential areas'.
As a result of the Amsterdam disaster and two similar incidents involving 747s, Boeing is adding an extra pylon on all 1,000 747s currently flying to prevent engines dropping off.
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