Case Report of the Alaska-Airline Disaster

This case report discusses about the Alaska-airline crash that has occurred on Jan, 31, 2000 at California. The causes, contributing factors, potential hazards and safe- guards that were ignored in accordance with air crash were discussed. This incident teaches a great lesson to the world to prevent future air- accidents and the inadequacies in policies to prevent loss of life and property.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The most miserable disaster of Alaska-Airline took place on 31 st January, 2000 at approximately 1621 Pacific- Standard time. The flight 261 that involves MD (McDonnell Douglas) - 83, N963AS was crashed at approximately 2.7 miles in the Pacific Ocean specifically at the north side of Anacapa- island of California. All the people in the flight that includes two pilots, three crew-members of cabin as well as 83 passengers were killed with destruction of the flight by impact forces (Carmody, 2002). There were dozen causes that have contributed to this disaster and have taught a great lesson about flight maintenance.    The main cause is that the in-flight failure of the acme- nut threads that is present on the jack-screw assembly (trim system) of the horizontal-stabilizer of flight has occurred. This has lead to the loss of pitch control of the flight. NTSB (2003) has stated that the jack-screw assembly is the most integral as well as crucial part of the trim- system of horizontal-stabilizer that acts as a critical airplane system and the destruction of this jack-screw assembly has caused the flight disaster. Moreover, the thread failure has occurred due to the insufficient lubrication that has lead to the excessive wear of the Alaska Airlines (Cockpit database, 2000). Basically, there was a fault in the fundamental MD- 83 flight design as it has no fail-safe design to counteract the thread loss of the total acme-nut that has lead to the catastrophic effects. In this disaster, improper adherence to the maintenance process as well as inspection of the jack-screw parts has exacerbated the design fault and has resulted in crash (Carmody, 2002). Another factor that has contributed was the extended interval for lubrication process. The Federal aviation-administration (FAA) has approved the extended lubrication interval that has contributed to the missing or improper lubrication. This has resulted in the complete wear of the threads of acme-nut. Further, increased interval for end- play check with approval from FAA for extension has allowed to the excessive wear that has progressed to failure without detecting the flaw. The horizontal-stabilizer has stopped working to the commands of the pilot and they were unable to rule out the cause. The acme- nut threads have worn inside the horizontal stabilizer and were sheared off completely. Then, the acme-screw and nut has jammed that has prevented the movement of horizontal-stabilizer. Later, the jam was overcome that has allowed the acme-screw to pull acme-nut causing the airplane to pitch downward (NTSB, 2003). It had lead to the (low- cycled fatigue) fracture of the torque tube again lowering the pitch from which regaining is impossible.   The use of auto-pilot at the time of horizontal stabilizer jam was inappropriate. Moreover, lack of checklist to land at these circumstances is an additional drawback. The pilots were not provided with clear guidelines to avoid experimenting with improper troubleshooting measures (Woltjer, 2007). The slats and flaps should have extended by the captain when the flight was controlled by the configuration after initial drive. The acme-nut threads were found to have worn extensively due to ineffective lubrication on the acme parts that have lead to the disaster. The recovered acme showed dried degraded grease that suggests that, it was not greased recently. The post-accident interviews of SPO-mechanic indicated that they had no knowledge to lubricate acme (NTSB, 2003). The safety board concluded that inadequate lubrication and lack of standard measures have lead to the accident. Fig: 1 shows acme-nut with plugged grease Increased pressure in the flight maintenance area in correcting, maintaining and delivering the flight in given time has contributed to this disaster. In this disaster, they have falsified the records that the flight has passed through the inspection process due to the increased pressure on them to make a scheduled return (Carmody, 2002). The measurements have showed that the jack-screw was in the brink to wear out and requires to be replaced by a newer jack-screw: but as it may delay the departure time, they have altered the record to be airworthy (ATEC, 2005).  The maintenance persons don’t have assertiveness to speak about the importance of lubrication and replacing the wear to the company.   The maintenance personnel have not helped the pilots when they were at horizontal-stabilizer problems. The safety issues in this accident include improper lubrication with inspection of the jack-screw, extended end-play check-intervals, over-haul procedures of jack-screw and design with certification of horizontal-stabilizer, maintenance program and FAA’s inadequacies has lead to disaster. Standards should be issued to pilots with the instructions to handle mal-functioning situations. NTSB (2002) ordered MD flights to replace dried greases with fresh grease. The size of the access-panel was increased to lubricate the jack-screw properly (FAA, 2002). The lubrication procedure for jack-screw was established as an inspection item to be signed by an inspector. The existing intervals were reviewed to identify the fault in the flight components. NTSB (2002) has conducted an evaluation and has issued a report with recommendations for maintenance. Improving fail- safe mechanism in MD design, promoting end-play check interval, issuing newer certification regulations and policies for horizontal stabilizers ensures safe air-travel. ATEC. (2005)  Incorporating Air Transport Association Codes into Maintenance Curriculum, ATEC Journal, 26 (2). Available from Aviation Technician Education Council [Accessed 28/02/17] Carmody, C.J. (2002)  Aircraft Accident Incident Report. Loss of Control and Impact with Pacific Ocean Alaska Airlines Flight 261 McDonnell Douglas MD-83, N963AS About 2.7 Miles North of Anacapa Island, California January 31, 2000, National Transportation Safety Board, Washington, DC:   National Transportation Safety Board. [Accessed 28/02/17] Cockpit database. (2000) Cockpit voice recorder database. Available from https://www.tailstrike.com/310100.htm [Accessed 28/02/17] FAA. (2002) Accident Board Recommendations, U.S.  Department  of  Transportation. Available from https://lessonslearned.faa.gov/ll_main.cfm?TabID=1&LLID=23&LLTypeID=4 [Accessed 28/02/17] NTSB. (2003) Loss of control and impact with Pacific Ocean, Alaska Airlines Flight 261, McDonnell Douglas MD-83, N963AS, about 2.7 miles north of Anacapa Island, California, January 31, 2000 (Aircraft Accident Report No. NTSB/AAR-02/01), National Transportation Safety Board. Washington, DC: National Transportation Safety Board [Accessed 28/02/17] Woltjer, R., & Hollnagel, E. (2007) The Alaska Airlines Flight 261 accident, A systemic analysis of functional resonance. Proceedings of the 2007 (14th) International Symposium on Aviation Psychology (ISAP), pp. 763-768. Available from https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:210824/fulltext01.pdf [Accessed 28/02/17]

Empirical study about the causes and social and health related impact Research Proposal

Empirical study about the causes and social and health related impact of smoking habits of Individual - Research Proposal Example This essay stresses that in order to explore the research objectives and achieving the primary aim of the research work, mixed research methodology will be taken into account. In this mixed methodology, both quantitative and qualitative research approach will be undertaken. In this regard, two prime methods of data collection, namely secondary data collection method, and primary data collection method will be taken into consideration. In the research work, the secondary data will be collected with the help of literature review method. In this method, different crucial literatures such as, books, journal article, previous research papers and online articles will be taken into account for the purpose of reviewing and retrieving information. Different books, journal articles, and online articles have been studied for the purpose of exploring some crucial information regarding smoking and its causes as well as impacts. Thsi paper makes a conclusion that in addition to this primary data related with the research work will be collected with the help of survey through questionnaire methods. In this method, an intensive field survey will be conducted with 50 randomly selected smokers. In the survey, questionnaires will be distributed among participants, and on the basis of responses provided by them, their attitude and perception regarding smoking and its effects will be analyzed.

The new atkins diet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The new atkins diet - Essay Example The diet allows for portion control and an explanation of how the restriction of carbohydrates can be beneficial to people. There is evidence that restricting carbohydrates can be beneficial to those looking to lose weight, with further evidence that restricted carbohydrates can help with diseases such as those involving seizures, Alzheimer’s or type 2 diabetes. Restricting carbohydrates, however, can be seen as restricting the body from some of the food items needed to have a balanced diet. The consideration of the New Atkins Diet is controversial and is likely not a good recommendation for a patient in search of healthy weight control. One of the first things that the writers of the New Atkins Diet state is that the diet was once a fad, but has been proven medically safe for those needing to lose weight (Westman, Phinney and Volek 2010, p. x). Westman, Phinney, and Volek (2010, p. xi) also go on to describe the benefits of low carbohydrate diets to the management of Alzheimer’s, autism, Lou Gehrig’s disease, and brain tumours. The authors do go on to say that there are a great many people, both medical professionals and layman, who do not believe that the Atkin’s form of eating is healthy or practical, but in pursuing their goals to fight obesity, they believe that the once ‘fad’ diet has the potential to revolutionize the lifestyles of those who adhere to their concepts. Looking at the framework within which the eating style is based can begin to reveal whether or not the diet is valuable as a tool for weight loss. Figure 1 is a diagram pyramid that shows how foods should be cons idered in a low carb diet. As the food lifestyle is explained, it is clear that the hope for this version is to make the consumer understand that the diet is not about eating nothing but â€Å"beef, bacon, and butter† (Westman, Phinney, and Volek 2010, p. xv). In Dr. Atkins book of 2002 which further explored his theories on weight loss, the diet is