LIFE AFTER SQ006 - Orient Aviation

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c o u n t r y f o c u sconvention regarding accidents, which is tofind the cause and establish remedies.Society’s goal in Japan is torn betweenfinding out what went wrong, so that it canbe put right in future, and finding someoneto blame and then punish. With the fear ofarrest, trial and detention looming over anyinvestigation there is a natural reluctance onthe part of those involved to comply voluntarilywith a situation that is rigged against them.Hardly surprising when the participants in anaccident case are often treated from the beginningnot as witnesses, but as perpetrators ofa crime – in Japanese, “kagaisha”.Fear of the blame and punishment processcolours attitudes to safety in a disturbing andfundamental way, leading to over-restrictivepractices and excessive limits on operations,which in turn prevent the expansion of servicesand affect the convenience of travellersand shippers.In the “accident culture” in Japan, the firstelements to arise are:• Who is guilty?• Whose fault is it?• Who do we punish?This is in marked contrast to the situationin the United States. The National TransportationSafety Board (NTSB) would investigate anear miss, but a police investigation wouldnever be initiated, unless the NTSB reportuncovered criminal activity.In the case of an aircraft accident in Japan,who is responsible for investigating the case,the Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee,the police or the media?Japan’s Aircraft Accident InvestigationCommittee (AAIC) was established in 1973.It falls under the jurisdiction of the JapanCivil Aviation Bureau, the aviation divisionof the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure andTransportation (MLIF), a newly formed megaministryincorporating the former Ministry ofTransport. It is not independent, as is the NTSB.This puts the impartiality of the AAIC intoquestion. Air traffic control, which is involvedin this near miss case, is also an MLIF-controlledfunction.The AAIC’s role is two-fold. First to determinethe cause and to recommend correction,second to prevent future accidents, save livesand reduce damage and injury.In the case of the police, finding the causecomes first too, but their final goal is to findout who is responsible, then prosecute andpunish.The media focus, apart from initiallyreporting the circumstances of the accident,is to pinpoint blame and call on punishmentof those responsible. To this end they harassand pursue persons involved in the case longbefore responsibility has been established,playing the roles of prosecutor and judge.Often the level of media attention istantamount to persecution and places greatstress on its innocent victims.When air accidents are investigated inJapan, a tacit agreement exists between thepolice and the AAIC. The police have firstpriority to access the accident site or securethe evidence. This includes custody of thecockpit voice recorder and the “black box”or flight recorder. The police ask the AAIC toanalyse these. From the AAIC report the policedetermine the cause of the accident. Duringthe period of the report investigation andcompilation other parties involved are notexpected to make public comments, exceptfor statements of regret or apology.‘The media focus ...is to pinpoint blameand call on punishmentof those responsible.To this end theyharass and pursuepersons involved inthe case long beforeresponsibility hasbeen established’As part of the punishment culture, peopleinvolved in an accident often take responsibilitybefore the official judgement or report ofa case. The most usual form is resignation ofsenior executives.Sometimes the response is more drasticand final. In 1985, during the police investigationinto a JAL B747 accident when 520 peopledied, a Ministry of Transport chief technicalinspector committed suicide, driven to thisdesperate act by incessant grilling by policefrom rural Gumma Prefecture, where the accidentoccurred.The aircraft in question had been in a tailhitaccident seven years before. A Boeing teamhad repaired the aircraft and the inspector hadsigned off on the repair. Part of the repair ofthe lower half of the rear pressure bulkheadwas inadequate, but visually undetectable.The weakened bulkhead ruptured in flight,severing hydraulic lines and damaging thevertical stabiliser, thus leading to the subsequentcrash. The police interrogators put theblame on him.There is a strong sense of taking responsibilityin Japanese society, which expects thosewho have disturbed the harmony or order ofthings to follow custom, apologise and takethe appropriate expiatory measure.In the near miss case, nobody is suggestingthat changing the accident investigationsystem in Japan will do away with the needfor anyone to take final responsibility as theculture demands. Instead, the call is for achange in procedure, to prevent scenes like thecockpit grilling of Captain Watanabe and hisfellow crew and the disruption of a meaningful,expert investigation.Japanese airlines share a common interestin co-operating with civil accident investigations,but would prefer the police waiteduntil the civil investigation is over, instead ofrushing to judgement.Although the role of the AAIC is to findout what happened and then to recommendcorrective action, its report findings often leadthe technically challenged police to the identityof people responsible for the accident.The crash of a China Airlines plane atNagoya in 1994 illustrates how bizarre thiscan become. After a lengthy investigationthe AAIC concluded faulty procedures by thecockpit crew led to the accident. WhereuponNagoya’s ‘finest’ recommended criminal prosecutionof the captain and co-pilot, who wereboth dead!In other industrial societies the processingof accidents involves what we might call the“insurance culture”.In these countries the cost of human errorin an accident is covered by an insurancepolicy. No punishment will be enforced onindividuals unless the investigation resultsindicate wilful misconduct or gross negligence.The other message here is that accidents areto be learned from, so they can be preventedin future.Until relatively recently there was no insuranceculture in Japan. That seems strangewhen you consider in the 17th century therewas already a very healthy and sophisticatedfutures market system in place for handlingrice. But there was no concept of insurance.When things went wrong, events weretreated according to the culture of blame andpunishment.Today, the punishment culture still prevails.With all the talk of globalisation andadoption of international standards, Japan’slaw enforcement authorities should adapt toan accident culture that focuses on remedialinstead of punitive action and enter the 21stcentury rather than continue to apply thestandards of the feudal past.40 | Orient Aviation | March 01
Commuter & Business Aviationin the Asia PacificS p e c i a l R e p o r tChina to leadregional jet boomNot too long ago analysts were almostunanimous in their belief that an Asianregional commuter jet was a BoeingB737, an Airbus A320 or somethingeven larger. Now, Asian operatorsare discovering the new breed ofsmall jets and transforming the faceof regional operations, reports TOMBALLANTYNE.Barry Eccleston, executive vicepresidentbusiness development atFairchild Dornier is convinced the regionaljet worm has turned in the Asia-Pacific.The region is on the verge of a big boom insmall jet sales and it will be spearheaded byan emerging Chinese market, he said.Speaking during February’s AustralianInternational Air Show at Avalon, nearMelbourne, Eccleston said China is now oneof the strongest markets in the world for thenew generation of regional jets and airlinersunder 110 seats.Fairchild Dornier forecasts show morethan 700 aircraft – jets and turboprops – inthat size range will ordered by airlines in Chinaand western Pacific Rim nations. Of that total,more than half will be jets in the 50 to 110seat category.“The market for regional jets in Chinais largely untapped, but the requirement isgrowing rapidly. Air carriers in China, like thoseelsewhere, are discovering the new smallerjets make good economic sense for the waythe market is changing,” said Eccleston.It sounds like a brave prediction givenpast frustrations about the pace of airlinedevelopment in China and the generallydismal outcome of previous attempts to sellBarry Eccleston, executive vice-presidentbusiness development at FairchildDornier: China market “untapped”small regional jets like the Fokker into theregional market.But times have changed, he said, andtoday’s jet suppliers – Bombardier andEmbraer as well as Fairchild Dornier – can learnlessons from the Fokker experience.There is plenty of evidence to suggest heis right. After trailing behind Europe and NorthAmerica in the regional small jet stakes, Asiais suddenly catching on.Hainan Airlines became the first airlinein China to operate new generation regionaljets with an order for 19 of Fairchild Dornier’s32-seat 328JET in August 1999. The first wasdelivered in November that year and deliveriesare now complete. But Hainan has sinceturned a series of options into firm orders,taking its total buy to 40.Eccleston is sure there are more ordersto come from other airlines, in China andelsewhere. He believes Australia, India andJapan will also be drivers behind growth inregional jet orders.While Eccleston will not comment publicly,he and his rivals are well aware of strongreports that India’s Jet Airways is unhappywith its fleet of ATR turboprops and is keento replace them with jets.There are even bigger fish to fry; severalof the regional jet makers made it clear theyare talking to Qantas about possible replacementsin its large regional fleet.In the meantime, most of the manufacturersare having some success. Canada’sBombardier has sold its Canadair CRJ-200regional jet to Shandong Airlines in China, JapanAirlines-owned regional J-Air and KendellAirlines in Australia.Based at the capital of ShandongProvince, Jinan, 500 kilometres south ofBeijing, Shandong Airlines last year acquiredfive CRJ200 jets as part of a major expansionprogramme and has since leased anotherfive.Embraer has been successful in Australiaon the turboprop front and has high hopesfor its new 70-seat ERJ 170 jet. Its family ofjets include the 98-seat ERJ 190-100 and the108-passenger ERJ 190-200.Currently 11 Australian regional operatorsfly Embraer turboprop aircraft including AirNorth regional, Flight West Airlines, SkippersAviation and Network Aviation. The companyis aiming to achieve a 50% share in theregional commercial jet market.“Australia is a very important marketfor Embraer. It is one of the most importantcountries in the Asia-Pacific region in termsof its economy and quality of air transportoperators and personnel. Its geography isalso conducive to a solid regional commercialaviation industry,” said Luiz Fuchs, the planemaker’schief representative and managingdirector for the Asia-Pacific.March 01 | Orient Aviation | 41
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