Recommendation

Appropriate Maintenance Release procedures for the continuing
airworthiness of class A aircraft.





OCCURRENCE SUMMARY

The class A aircraft was engaged in a night training exercise at
Tamworth with three pilots on board. After takeoff from runway 12L,
the aircraft diverged left and struck trees and powerlines before
impacting the ground in a semi-inverted attitude. The crew had
simulated the failure of the left engine shortly after reaching the
take-off decision speed (V1).



A defect with the nosewheel steering may have added to the pilot's
work load on the final takeoff. This defect was entered on the
Maintenance Release by a pilot 13 days before the accident flight.
The pilot cleared the endorsement on the Maintenance Release as
"not a major defect", and transferred the defect to the Deferred
Defect List.





SAFETY DEFICIENCY

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority approves Maintenance Control
Manuals that allow pilots of class A aircraft to:



(a) endorse a Maintenance Release clearing a defect as not major
without certification; and



(b) transfer those defects to the Deferred Defect List.



These actions can result in a defect being inappropriately
assessed and left unactioned.





ANALYSIS

The operator's approved procedures in the Maintenance Control
Manual state, "To transfer an endorsement, where facilities are not
available to rectify the damage or defect, the pilot in command or
an appropriate Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer engaged in
the maintenance of the aircraft shall:



(a) consult the operators Minimum Equipment List for the aircraft
to determine that the damage or defect can be transferred to the
Deferred Defect List;



(b) if not included in the applicable operators Minimum Equipment
List, determine that the damage or defect is not of such a kind
that it may affect the safety of the aircraft or cause the aircraft
to become a danger to persons or property and therefore is not
major damage / defect (NMD), and is not an instrument or equipment
required by Civil Aviation Order 20-18 subsection 10.



NOTE : The Pilot-in-command may need to consult with an
appropriately Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer to make
determination (b) above."



Currently the regulatory requirement applicable to defects and the
endorsement of the Maintenance Release, is as follows: Civil
Aviation Regulation 50 requires defects to be endorsed on a
Maintenance Release and, if the defect or damage is considered to
be "major", then a Civil Aviation Regulation 47 endorsement
declaring the aircraft to be unairworthy may be required. In
contrast, "not-major" defects may be carried for the duration of
the Maintenance Release as open defects. These defects are entered
on the Maintenance Release for the pilot's notification and
decision as to whether or not to fly with the open defect. However,
in this occurrence, the pilot transferred the defect to the
Deferred Defect List as "not a major defect".



This Deferred Defect list is approved as part of the Maintenance
Release, and the defect was still open at the time of the accident.
There was no indication that any pilot had re-assessed the defect,
or required corrective action be taken in the intervening
period.



A survey of some regional operators has confirmed that this
procedure is not isolated. Many regional operators have approved
Maintenance Control Manuals which incorporate similar
procedures.



With the complexities of the modern high-technology transport
category aircraft, all defects cleared on the maintenance release
as "not a major defect" should be certified by an appropriate
licensed aircraft maintenance engineer before transfer to the
Deferred Defect list. This is the approved procedure of the major
domestic airlines.