########################################################################## # Goanetters-2004 meet in Goa. Dec 21, Tuesday. 12 noon to 2 pm. # # Clube Vasco, Near Municipal Garden, Panjim. Pass the word around! # ##########################################################################
--- "Frederick Noronha(FN)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > It would appear that > there's something > drastically wrong with the Sea Harriers, or their > operation in India, > which isn't being admitted to by the authorities. > Fred, Further to my earlier posting, the above caused me to ponder awhile on the maintenance issues of the aircraft, apart from regular maintenance that I'm sure the aircraft are subject to. After doing a bit of research on accidents in the UK, it appears that these accidents that had occurred in the past are very similar in nature to those that have occurred in India (Goa). It is my understanding, after having handled updates to maintenance manuals, emergency repair bulletins and warnings of impeding failure for the Brazilian Navy as received from the British MOD, Rolls-Royce, Westland Helicopters, etc. during my stint in London in the 1980s at the BNCE, that any issues/problems encountered and modifications carried out, after discovering shortcomings (as a result of accident investigations), are routinely disseminated to the owners of such sea-vessels and aircraft that have been designed and/or manufactured in the UK. I wonder if the Indian Navy has indeed carried out the recommended modifications (if any) to the aircraft as proposed by any emergency repair bulletins or heeded to warnings issued after similar accidents in the UK? Another thought that comes to mind is the quality of the spares used during maintenance. One might think a bolt is a bolt. However, a bolt has to meet certain criteria like tensile strength or whatever (engineers might be able to explain this better), indicated by the various standards (BS, NATO, DIN, etc). The personnel who purchase the supplies sometimes have no idea of what the bolt is supposed to be holding together. Thus being, discrepancies might occur especially if the authorities are after "saving money" and inferior or sub-standard replacements might find their way into the maintenance stores. Also, the purchaser has to trust that the supplier supplies the parts of the correct standard ordered. It is not uncommon that two apparently identical parts can be manufactured to two different standards. This was made clear when something as innucuous as a substandard 'O' ring caused the Challenger space-shuttle disaster. So all these aspects have to be investigated to be sure as to what caused the recent accident. Cheers, Gabriel. Find local movie times and trailers on Yahoo! Movies. http://au.movies.yahoo.com
