Page 8 - Forum-2020-JulyToSeptember

ysis, investigators were
able to have an accurate
understanding of the
sequence of events that
led to the aircraft’s de-
parture from controlled
flight. Had a recording
system not been on
board, crucial infor-
mation to understand
the circumstances and
events leading up to
this occurrence would
not have been available
to the investigation.
In contrast, the
information normally
recorded by FDR or
CVR systems was not
available for the second
accident discussed in
this paper. Investigators
could not positively de-
termine why the aircraft
departed controlled
flight and collided The Mitsubishi MU-28-60 suffered a loss of control and collision into terrain while on approach to Îles-de-
with terrain. Because la-Madeleine Airport, Québec, resulting in the loss of all seven people on board.
this aircraft was not
equipped with any type
of lightweight flight
recording system, inves-
tigators were precluded
from fully identifying The Cessna Citation 500 also suffered loss of control and collision with terrain while on departure from
and understanding the Kelowna Airport, British Columbia, with the loss of all four people on board.
sequence of events and
the accident’s underly-
ing causes and contrib-
uting factors.
When investigators
have access to recorded
data on board an
aircraft, they can
quickly figure out what
happened, and then it is
possible to spend
precious time and
resources concentrating
on the issues as to why
the accident happened.
Otherwise, time is need-
lessly spent testing and
discounting hypotheses,
and other issues that
are deemed irrelevant
to the investigation.

8 • July-September 2020 ISASI Forum