Convair 580 crashed on first flight after cable-rigging check

US investigators have disclosed that the Air Tahoma Convair 580 freighter which crashed in Ohio earlier this month was conducting its first flight following a C-check, part of which included flight-control cable rigging.

The aircraft had been operating a post-maintenance check and training flight from Columbus Rickenbacker Airport to Mansfield, Ohio, on 1 September.

But just one minute after departing on Rickenbacker's runway 5L, the crew requested a return. Air traffic control cleared the aircraft to land on the same runway but it crashed into a cornfield at 12:06, only three minutes after beginning its take-off roll.

All three crew members - the only occupants - were killed in the accident. During the attempted return to the airport, they had advised air traffic control that emergency equipment was not required.

While the US National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the accident, it has released preliminary information which confirms the aircraft was flying for the first time since undergoing a C-check.

It states that this work "included flight-control cable rigging as part of the check", although the NTSB has not said whether this bears any relevance to the accident.

The 52-year old Convair struck the ground, on a southerly heading, about 1.6km (1mi) southwest of the approach end to runway 5L.

Marks in the corn indicate that the undercarriage had been lowered, and that the aircraft was on a glide path of about 10°, with its right wing slightly down, at the point of impact.

From this point the debris field stretched about 200m (665ft) to a tree line, and the main wreckage was located a further 50m (160ft) south.

About 3m (10ft) of the forward fuselage separated at impact. Both wings separated from the fuselage, and both engines from the wings, during the crash. The wings and fuselage sections suffered fire damage.

The propeller gearboxes of both engines separated and were found near the initial impact point, although the propeller hubs were discovered 380m (1,250ft) away.

All four blades from both propellers separated from the hubs and were found throughout the debris path. Both flight recorders were retrieved from the wreckage and the information they contain is still undergoing analysis.

Source: Air Transport Intelligence news

Fonte: Flight Safety Information 23/09/2008.