Fri Nov 09, 2007 7:40 am
On 5 October 2006, BAC Strikemaster VH-AKY crashed near Bathurst.
While ATSB investigators have not yet completed their investigations, it is
obvious that the aircraft broke up in flight. Initially, the investigation
concentrated on the separation of the right wing. ATSB has confirmed
that the upper attachment lug of the right wing failed, and examination of
the fractured lug has confirmed the presence of fatigue cracks in the lug,
which reduced its load capacity.
However, further investigation has now shown that there is a possibility
that the failure of the right wing may have occurred later in the break up
sequence than previously believed. The investigation has raised the
possibility that a failure involving the horizontal or vertical stabilisers may
have preceded the wing failure.
As either failure is likely to be catastrophic, CASA believes that operators
should check both the wing attachments and the horizontal and vertical
stabilisers and control surfaces for problems.