Saw this over on
www.landings.com today. Thought some of you might be interested.
Plane's old paper trail impedes probe
BY JAMES BERNSTEIN
STAFF WRITER
December 30, 2005
When an airplane crashes, investigators have a host of duties to perform, including one that has to be done immediately: getting a hold of the plane's original design and specifications from the manufacturer.
But what if the manufacturer no longer exists?
Federal investigators found themselves confronted with just such a situation last week, when an amphibian - capable of operating from water as well as land-based airports - crashed off Miami Beach, killing the two pilots and 18 passengers aboard.
The 58-year-old plane - dubbed the Mallard - was built by the former Grumman Corp. in Bethpage. Fifty-nine were built, all in the late 1940s.
The plane that crashed was operated by Chalk's Ocean Airways, which since the accident has grounded the remaining four Mallards in its fleet.
The problem for the Federal Aviation Administration is that there is no Grumman anymore, or at least, not in any form that helps the investigation. In 1994 Long Island's largest private employer was acquired by Northrop Corp. of Los Angeles, and the combined company is now known as Northrop Grumman Corp. Since then, the Bethpage operation has all but ceased working on airframes, and its engineers, expertise and archives have all dispersed.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators learned that the Mallard's original designs and certificates had been sold by Grumman about 25 years ago to a Texas aircraft parts-manufacturer, Frakes Aviation.
Company owner Joe Frakes said he bought them when the company was young.
"There was a dream, maybe," of Frakes making Mallards, the owner said in an interview earlier this week. It never happened, Frakes said, because his company did not have the financial backing for such a project. But Frakes did modify the existing Mallards with faster turbo-prop engines in the early 1970s, replacing the original piston engines.
Frakes said he has been interviewed by NTSB and FAA officials, and even went to the crash site to see if he could help the investigators. "We have cooperated fully in the investigation," Frakes said.
When an airplane's original design plans are as old as the Mallard's, or when the plans are no longer with the original manufacturer, an investigation can be hampered, Mary Schiavo, a former inspector general of the Department of Transportation, said yesterday.
But if the investigation into the Dec. 19 crash was slowed, it will undoubtedly pick up speed, said Schiavo, one of the country's foremost experts on aircraft safety. The NTSB has already discovered a crack in the main support of the twin-engine plane's right wing, which broke away shortly after takeoff from a shipping channel near Miami Beach on a flight scheduled to end in Bimini, one of 87-year-old Chalk's regular designations.
Schiavo, an outspoken critic of the commercial aviation industry, said she questioned the safety of the Mallards because of their age.
"Mallards are museum pieces," Schiavo said. "There are planes in museums younger than these."
"The rule of thumb is that aircraft are built for a 20-year economic life," Schiavo said. "That doesn't mean they fall out of the sky after 20 years. But it does mean they need tender loving care."
Paul Schlamm, an NTSB spokesman, said the agency is reviewing maintenance records and the plane's service history "and all the work that was done on the aircraft" over the years.
"There is a lot of material to go through," Schlamm said.
Chalk's officials did not return a call seeking comment.
On Long Island, the Mallard is remembered favorably. It was a post-World War II project for Grumman, which was then looking for commercial business. At the time, the plane's interior was considered unique. There were two divans with end tables, card tables and four reclining chairs. The interior was finished with a wood veneer. There was also a dressing room, a lavatory, recessed fluorescent lights and a refreshment cabinet.
The Mallard attracted wealthy travelers and corporations. One of them was bought by the Netherlands for use by the royal family. By today's standards, the Mallard was a steal. It sold for $90,000.
Grounding the Mallards
Chalk's Ocean Airways has grounded its entire fleet of Grumman G-73 Turbo Mallards after a fatal crash in Miami earlier this month.
GRUMMAN G-73
TURBO MALLARD
Type: Twin-engine amphibious aircraft.
First manufactured: 1947; some at Grumman plant in Bethpage
Total produced: 59 (including non-turbos)
Capacity: 20, including crew
Maximum speed: 215 mph
Range: 1,400 miles
SOURCES: FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION; CHALK'S OCEAN AIRWAYS; MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PROPERTY APPRAISER;
WWW.AIRLINERS.NET
Copyright 2005 Newsday Inc.
Be Safe
Robbie
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We still don't know everything we need to know about "ageing aircraft". Its sad that these things happen, but when they do we need to learn as much as we can so as to try & prevent it on other aircraft. 
