Safety Board issues warning related to return to service of aircraft following temporary storage during COVID-19
The Dutch Safety Board has issued an interim warning to airlines that are returning their aircraft to service following temporary storage.
The Safety Board is currently investigating two occurrences involving commercial aircraft that encountered problems with their airspeed and altitude indications shortly after takeoff. The aircraft, operated by Transavia and TUI fly, had been in storage for some time prior to the occurrence as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In one of these occurrences, a cover had not been removed, while in the other a number of pressure lines had not been properly connected. In both cases, the pilots were presented with incorrect altitude and airspeed information as a consequence.
Alert to safety risks
The aim of the Dutch Safety Board in issuing today’s warning is to raise airlines’ and maintenance organisations’ awareness to the safety risks that can increase when aircraft are retuned to service following a period of storage. With the easing of the COVID-19 measures, this is expected to be a common activity over the coming months.
The complete warning can be found here. The occurrences which the Board is currently investigating are ‘Erroneous altitude and airspeed indications, Boeing 737-700, Rotterdam The Hague Airport, 24 April 2021′ and ‘Deviating speed and altitude indications, Boeing 737-8K5, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, 3 October 2020’.
