Kazakhstan's Aviation Administration Reveals Violations in Kazakh Bek Air Operations

Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan JSC (AAK) has revealed a number of violations in operations of Kazakhstan’s Bek Air airline company, the plane of which crashed near Almaty International Airport, Trend reports with reference to Kazakhstan’s Civil Aviation Committee.

On the morning of Dec.27, 2019, the Fokker-100 plane of Bek Air airline implementing flight on the route Almaty – Nur-Sultan lost its height during take-off and broke through a concrete fence, colliding with a two-story building.

According to the latest data, 12 people died, and 66 were injured as a result of the Bek Air's plane crash on Dec. 27. A total of 98 people were on the plane, including nine children and five crew members.

Shortly after the accident, Bek Air company’s operations as well as the use of Fokker-100 type aircraft in Kazakhstan were suspended.

After the crash, AAK suspended the Air Operators Certificate (AOC), and the Certificates of Airworthiness Certificates (COA) of the company based on the fact that Bek Air had experienced two major accidents in last three years, as well as that the number of major safety issues was well above the minimal acceptable level of safety for a public transport operator.

AAK’s inspection of Bek Air has raised two major issues regarding the airworthiness of the airline.

Firstly, evidence was found that Bek Air failed to maintain proper record keeping. Technical logs are inconsistent at best with a number of indications of component transfer from one plane to another. Bek Air’s records show that the company often installed spare parts from one plane to another.

The most serious safety violation is that Bek Air has removed data plates of the spare parts. This means the identity of engines can no longer be verified and that operation hours attributed to that engine are no longer provable.

Several engines with this problem have been identified, which casts doubt on all aircraft engines operated by Bek Air. In addition, Rolls Royce, the manufacturer of the Fokker-100 aircraft engines, reported that they have received no information about the overhaul of these engines since these planes were put into operation in Kazakhstan. Rolls Royce also said that there is no procedure which would require the removal of a data plate, nor would Rolls Royce authorize such a procedure.

The second main issue is the swapping of components from one plane to another and the lack of the inventory control required to manage it.

There are many other serious violations related to ELT status, cargo hold fire protection deficits, life jacket and other, which apply to all planes.

Overall, the fleet status has been assessed as poor, the report said

In terms of airline flight operations, the list of identified violations is also impressive. During the inspection of theb video at Almaty airport, it was discovered that the Bek Air crew usually don't conduct a walk-around, or a wing check as instructed and required in the Bek Air’s operations manual.

The aircraft operations manual clearly states that the aircraft wing must be checked prior to each flight. The manual states that if there is ice present then all surfaces must be de-iced. Video footage shows that this check was never completed.

Training records show no evidence of winter operations training being conducted. No training syllabus was produced to show that crews are trained to identify and treat ice risks for this type of aircraft. This specific lack of training is a serious safety concern given the nature of winter operations in Kazakhstan.

At the moment AAK’s inspection is still ongoing. After its completion, Bek Air airline company will have 10 days to submit their corrective actions plan. If the violations are not resolved within six months, the Air Operators Certificate and Certificates of Airworthiness will not be returned.

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