A REPORT into the causes of an air accident has again put the onus on the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA).
Back in May, 73-year-old David Armstrong, a permanent resident, died after his microlight smashed into a field in Paphos. The accident findings were released this weekend.
The subsequent accident investigation board has found a whole raft of things went wrong on the day. For one, coroners determined that Armstrong had in fact suffered a heart attack in full flight, causing him to lose control of the microlight.
Armstrong had been issued with a pilot’s licence despite failing to submit a doctor’s certificate affirming he was fit to fly. Instead of asking for such documentation, the DCA had wrongly relied on a prior clean bill of health issued to Armstrong by the UK’s civil aviation. However, local authorities should have requested an additional certificate issued in Cyprus.
And according to the findings, the deceased pilot “had a lengthy medical history, consisting of a heart attack, prostate cancer, asthma and broken ribs from a recent microlight accident.”
Moreover, Armstrong had apparently experienced turbulence while in the air, and had contacted tower control informing them he would make an emergency landing. However, the traffic controllers at Paphos airport could not hear him clearly, and were thus prevented from taking quick action that might have saved the man’s life.
An eyewitness who rushed to the crash scene reported that Armstrong had survived the impact and was still alive after hitting the ground.
Because of the poor two-way communication, another pilot who was airborne at the time tried to help by relaying Armstrong’s words to tower control. But for all his best intentions, the second pilot’s chatter caused further confusion to the controllers on duty.
In its report, the board suggests a remedy: “ATC controllers facing communication difficulties especially in urgent or emergency cases should not only wear handsets but immediately allocate an alternative frequency for such aircraft so that communication can be safeguarded with minimum interference from other aircraft.”
In addition, the board found that the safety pin for the parachute had not been removed during preflight inspection – another precaution that could have saved Armstrong.
Meanwhile, Communications and Works Minister Nicos Nicolaides yesterday denied reports the government planned to strip the DCA of its powers and transfer these directly to the Ministry of Communications.
According to Phileleftheros yesterday, the move comes after a negative assessment of the DCA, which was found wanting in several aspects, including airport oversight and security, as well as air traffic control.
The daily claimed that these units would be moved to the relevant ministry under a new organisation directly answerable to it. Moreover, it said the decision has already been made at a Cabinet level but that the ministry was proceeding discreetly so as not to stoke up reaction within the DCA.
The paper even claimed that the director of DCA had been kept in the dark. The coming changes are based at least partly on the recommendations of EuroControl, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation. Last year, the European body proposed the restructuring of the DCA to improve its operation.
But speaking to the Mail, Communications Minister Nicos Nicolaides put a different spin on the reports.
He said the goal was to gradually “evolve” the DCA into an independent authority, which would make it more effective.
It was not true the DCA would lose its powers, he added. Nor was the claim that the changes were a fait accompli. Rather, said Nicolaides, the government was currently in a “dialogue” with the DCA.
“The department will become similar to a semi-governmental organisation,” he said.
Asked whether this still implied the government was unhappy with how the DCA was functioning, Nicolaides said: “It’s not that, but things can certainly get better.”
The department came under the spotlight in the wake of the Helios air disaster of 2005. Damning reports about it began surfacing in the media, including one by ICAO, the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
These reports were compounded by explosive allegations put forward by a senior Civil Aviation officer, who claimed the department was cutting corners when it came to safety.
The accident probe itself cited “oversight deficiencies” within the DCA.
