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Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM AND RELATED LITERATURE

Introduction

Aircrafts are some of the most complex engineering systems ever

conceived and built designing, testing, certifying, and producing an aircraft is
monumental undertaking requiring millions of decisions and years of effort. But
in this advance thinking and technology accident still occurs or happened.

Pilot errors, mechanical and weather these are the common factors why
accidents occurs on aircraft, One of the most common scenarios, involves pilots
crashing into the ground, a mountain, or water — either due to poor visibility,
distraction, or a navigation mistake. Hardware malfunctions, however, do cause
some accidents, and can compound a pilot's error to lead to a crash. The majority
of crashes (whether caused by human or mechanical factors) occur during
landing.

In July 1995 the Bureau of Air Safety Investigation published a Survey of

Australian Agricultural Aviation Accidents 1985-1992. The survey examined the
number of accidents, and the accident rate, for aircraft involved in crop dusting,
crop spraying and other agricultural aviation activities in Australia. It also
analyzed the factors associated with those accidents.

Accidents involving agricultural aircraft have continued to occur at a

similar rate to that of the previous survey. The Bureau has therefore updated the
previous survey by including the data for the three years 1993-1995, examining
the accident trends for the 10-year period 1986-1995, and analyzing the factors
attributed to the latest accidents. The agricultural aviation accidents accounted
for 12% of all Australian aviation accidents during the 10-year period 1986-1995
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and that the accident rate continues to be higher than that for other sectors of
general aviation.

The majority of accidents occur in the agricultural work phase, whereas

with other types of commercial operations most accidents occur in the take-off
and landing phases. The largest groups of accidents is associated with contacting
power lines or overhead communication lines and are attributed to the pilot
either not seeing the power line, or momentarily forgetting the position of the
power line. These factors are categorized as failures in the pilots' 'perception of
their working environment'.

The second largest category of accidents was where the investigator

assessed that the pilot exercised poor decision making. The number of
agricultural aviation incidents reported to the Bureau was relatively small.
However, those that were reported involved factors very similar to those
associated with the agricultural accidents. There is a need for greater reporting of
incidents as a means of increasing safety awareness and improving accident
prevention.

On September 21, 2011 about 10:20am, RP-C7087 a Cessna 152 type of

aircraft departed Plaridel airport for an Air works within the vicinity of the
airport after forty five minutes (45 mins.) of flight, on the way back to Plaridel
airport, the pilot-in-command conducted a wide base turning finals heading
runway 17 about 400 feet joining the traffic pattern the aircraft experienced
engine power loss. The pilot tried to correct the engine problem but no avail.
Consequently, the pilot decided to make a controlled crash landing on a nearby
rice field at Barangay Penabatan, Pulilan, Bulacan. The aircraft rolled about 50m
over the rice field and flipped over after hitting the rice paddies. No post fire was
reported both pilot and the student escaped with no injuries.
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The Aircraft Accident Investigation and Inquiry Board determined that

the probable cause of this accident was due to material failure. The engine
exhaust metal gasket which is attached to the exhaust manifold assembly was
found to be worn out, evidenced of corrosion were noted. Study bolts which
holds the engine exhaust pipes were found to be damaged due to corrosion, the
thread of the bolt was no longer noticeable.

The airworthiness who conducted the annual relicensing failed to identify

the dilapidated metal gasket spacer attached between the engine and exhaust
pipes assembly. The Approved Maintenance Organization (AMO) failed to
detect during the annual airworthiness renewal resulted to the losses
compression of the engine during flight operation.

Tagum City, Philippines (2013) – A pilot was killed when the light spray
plane he was flying crashed in nearby Panabo City Friday morning, barely a
week after a similar incident occurred in Montevista town in Compostela Valley.
Officials said Superintendent Glen Cristenes, spokesman of the Davao del Norte
police office, said Captain Napoleon Emia died from injuries he suffered when
his plane (body no. RPR 1272) took a nosedive and crashed into a banana
plantation of Lapanday Foods Corporation at around 8 a.m. “witnesses said the
crop-duster [crashed] moments after taking off. [Evergreen] farm employees
rushed to the crash site and pulled the victim from wreckage”.

He was brought to Rivera Hospital at the city proper but attending

physicians Daily Inquirer by plane. He said an investigation was being
conducted by the Panabo City police and Civil Aviation Authority based in
Davao City to determine the cause of the accident. About a week ago, a Spray
hired by Japanese banana company Sumifru Fruits Corp. (Sumifru) also crashed
but its pilots survived. Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley are two of
country’s biggest banana-producing provinces. Air accidents and mishaps are
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commonplace as growers of over 40,000 hectares of bananas in these areas rely

on aging light aircraft for pesticides application. (Iquirer.net, 2010)

This study is being proposed to assess the effectiveness of Maintenance

Program of Agriculture Aircraft in Region XI. Evaluation based on the
perceptions of the respondent on Maintenance Program shall be made on such
areas as Personnel’s Qualification, Knowledge, Skills and Attitude relationships.

With the foregoing impressions of the writer, this study hopes to find out
the main reasons among the chosen 3 factors that cause the accidents of
agricultural aircraft and to further authenticate existing theories and
generalizations on the subjects.

A combination of standard procedure and strategic plan may lead to

safety and more secure not only to passenger, mechanic and pilot but also to the
aircraft. The objective of this study is to understand the importance of improving
safety protocols in general aviation by determining how general aviation can use
similar operational strategies as those of agricultural aircraft.

Review of Relative Literature

Aviation industry here in Philippines represents a large majority of the

worldwide aircraft commercial. In term of flight operation a large number of
aircraft are registered aircraft, some of aircraft is using for commercial others are
consisting of private airplanes, business jets, air taxi, etc.

General Aviation accidents result in hundreds of fatalities each year that

was according to report in the Philippines there has been a slight increase in
overall and fatal civil aviation accidents in the Philippines from the present 2015
This figure includes both commercial and non-commercial aircraft activity.

Generally speaking, those aircraft that are not using for commercial has
always had a higher accident rate than commercial aviation due to differences in
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training, experience, technology, and procedures. Airlines are required to have

co-pilots, dispatchers, mechanics, loadmasters, and others that help the pilot
before, during, and after each flight to enhance safety and maintain a system of
checks and balances. Those not for commercial purposes a single pilot may
conduct all aspects of flight.

NSTB Reports on 78 Agriculture Aircraft Accident in 2013

The national Transportation Safety Board has issued another report about
the safety of agricultural aircraft operations, and it contains new
recommendation for the FAA and the National Agricultural Aviation Research &
Education Foundation. The recommendations to both organization ask they
work together to develop and distribute guidance on fatigue, fatigue
management strategies, and scheduling practices in order to help reduce the
likelihood of fatigue, dehydration hunger, and other physiological factors that
can negatively affect a pilot’s concentration, decision-making and performance.

The report says 802 agricultural aircraft accident occurred from 2001
through 2010, including 81 fatal accidents. The industry’s 10-year average total
accident rate is higher than the 10-year average total accident rate of U.S general
aviation, it states. The report focuses on 2013 accident – a year when NTSB
investigated 78 aircraft accidents involving some aspect of agricultural
operations; nine of them were fatal accidents that killed a total of 10 people.
Sixteen of the accidents involved in-flight collisions with obstacles such as power
lines, guys wires, trees and meteorological evaluation towers.
The report cites fatigue, inadequate aircraft maintenance, lack of
operations specific risk management guidance, and lack of guidance for pilot
knowledge and skill test as safety issues these accidents have highlighted. Most
non-commercial aircraft’ airports lack the advanced services the airlines are
provided at larger airports, such as longer runways, precision approaches, and
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approach lighting systems according to report takeoffs and landings are

considered the most critical phases of flight and are more prone to result in an
accident.
Additionally, airliners have the capability to fly over or around most
weather phenomena because they have the most advanced systems and
technologies to help the pilot cope with hazardous situations, where most non-
commercial aircraft do not have this capability. According to the U.S Bureau of
Labor Statistics ( BLS ), U.S workers supporting the air transport sector in jobs
such as airport operation and the servicing, repairing, maintaining, storing and
ferrying of aircraft, suffered 2,780 nonfatal occupational injuries and illness
involving days away from work in 2006.
The data showed an upward trend from 2003 (2,680) and 2005 (2,470).
Many of the injured in this category occurred to service workers, such as
ticketing agents and bellhops, who lift heavy bags but don’t work on the ramp.
The cost of ramp accident is high. According to the flight safety Foundation,
approximately 27,000 ramp accidents and incident occur annually worldwide
and around 243,000 people are injured – about time nine per 1,000 departures.

The cost to major airlines was estimated to be at least $10 billion a year.
The Int’l Air Transport Association (IATA) reckons the direct cost of airplane
damage to about $14 billion a year. IATA attributes the problem to “minimal
oversight” of ground service providers in the selection and licensing process, in
systems implementation, training and development, and in auditing, reporting
and compliance procedures.

Nevertheless, it’s easy to tell, even from this randomly selected survey
data, that serious injuries are commonplace among workers such as aircraft
mechanics, vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, and materials movers.
Among the most frequent types of injuries were: sprains and strains; bruises and
contusions; fractures; and cuts, lacerations and punctures.
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Fatalities also occur, GAO found that 29 fatal ramp accidents (across all
sectors of aviation) from 2001 through 2006, 17 involved ground workers, eight
were passengers and four were pilots. These misfortunes typically occurred
when employees were struck by object such us vehicles, or were crushed, or fell.
Of the eight passengers who died, five were struck by propeller.

There are many possible reasons for this higher accident rate, but this
review of literature will focus on the Aspects: pilot error, mechanical and
weather.

Theoretical Framework

This study is anchored on the theory of Adams Charlotte safety

measurement in the hangar (2013). It is based on the glamour that aviation is a
dangerous business. Pilots and mechanics are well aware of the risk and are
highly trained to manage them but the same cannot be said for many of the
ground support workers in aviation ramps and hangar. The lack of a standard
approach to training, the relentless time pressures which many of these workers
face their congested and sometimes confusing work spaces, and their physically
demanding but often ill-paid positions can create a dangerous environment.

The industry recognizes this and is taking steps to improve it, in general,
business and commercial aviation, but are these changes happening fast enough?
There are also major obstacles to understanding the scope of the ramp safety
problem and thus improving it: government data is incomplete and privately
collected data is considered propriety.
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Conceptual Framework

This conceptual framework shows the relationships of independent

variable accident dependent variable TADECO Company in Davao Del Norte.

Independent variables Dependent variables

Causes of Aircraft
Accidents

 Mechanical error
TADECO COMPANY

 Pilot Error

 Weather
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Statement of the problem

This study will undertake to investigate the correlation of aircraft accident

and TADECO Company in Carmen Davao City Davao Del Norte during the year
2014.

The following specific problem will likewise be answered:

1. What is the profile of the respondents in term of:

1.1 Age

1.2 Gender

1.3 Employment Status

1.4 Length of Service

2. What is the cause of aircraft accident in TADECO Hangar in terms of:

2.1 Mechanical error

2.2 Pilot error

2.3 Weather

3. Is there a significant relationship between aircraft accident and TADECO

Company in Carmen, Davao Del Norte?

Null Hypothesis

There is no significant relationship between the aircraft accident and

TADECO Company Carmen Davao Del Norte when they are grouped according
to their demographic variables.
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Significance of the study

The result of this study will contribute significantly to the Agricultural

Aircraft in Region XI who aims to lessen the rate of accident and increase
profitability in their company

For Agricultural Aircraft Companies

This study will be used as a guide in helping them to improve their

maintenance program and to avoid accidents involving their aircraft.

For the Aircraft Pilot and Maintenance Personnel

This will help pilot to understand the importance of maintenance

program.

For the future researchers

This study was conducted to determine the correlation of aircraft

maintenance personnel performance would affect the airworthiness of the
aircraft. Thus, future researchers who taken interest on the said topic may find
this study a great help on their research and would someday develop their skills
and knowledge for personal growth.

Scope and Delimitation

This study will look into the correlation of Agricultural Aircraft

Maintenance Personnel performance along such areas as knowledge, skills and
attitudes. They study will further obtain information regarding the last
assessment of respondent maintenance personnel performance in agricultural
aircraft in Region XI.

This study is limited since only a descriptive-survey research will be

conducted to 12 of maintenance personnel’s in Agricultural Aircraft in Region XI.
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A researcher made questionnaire will be administered to the respondents

who will be selected through random sampling. Data gathered shall be treated
using Simple Linear Regression Analysis to determine the correlation existing
between independent and dependent variables under study.
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Chapter 2

METHODOLOGY

This chapter describes on how the research study was undertaken. This
shows and describes the topics that covered in this study; namely research
design, research respondents, research instruments, and data gathering
procedure, data analysis and statistical configuration of the data.

Research Design

The information provided in this study is intended as a guide for safety

servicing and operation on the aircraft in the aviation industry. Human factors
should be introduced to the aircraft maintenance personnel to make them aware
of how it affects the maintenance being performed and practice.

Respondents

Questionnaires are made and were validated by the experts on research

writing to obtain an accurate result for the purpose of this study. In order to do
that, sampling design will be used such as Solving Formula. Our respondents are
Aircraft Mechanics, Aviation Instructor and Aviation Students. The Aircraft
Mechanics that we will be going to interview is from TADECO Hangar. The
Aviation instructors and Aviation Students are from MATS College of
Technology.

Research Instrument

The research instrument used is questionnaire to be more specifically in

getting details. Application letter is also made for the “step by step” procedure in
gathering data.
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Data gathering Procedure

First, a referral was endorsed to the management of the researched venue.

It sought permission to conduct the survey within their facilities and premises.
Upon receipt of the confirmation letter from the management of Agricultural
Aircraft in TADECO Company Carmen, Davao del Norte, questionnaires were
photocopied for distribution to the respondents. Administration of the
questionnaires followed with some verbal instructions for clarity. It took the
researcher of 10 days to collect back the questionnaires.

Data Analysis
The following statistical tools were used to interpret the gathered data.
Frequency and Percentage:

% = f/n x 100

Where:

% = means percentage

f = means frequency

n = means number cases or total sample

Weighted Mean: The weighted mean refers to the arithmetic average of the
overall response of the respondents.

∑𝑛
𝑖=1 𝑓𝑖𝑊𝑖
Xw = 𝑁𝑖

Where:

𝑋𝑤 = Weighted mean

∑= Summation nation
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𝑊𝑖 = value of each item

𝑁𝑖 = total number of observation

Ranking method: This formula is used to identify the position of an individual

or a group in a series of ranks.

Rank 1 = variable with the highest frequency

Rank 2 – variable with the second highest frequency and succeeding

numbers for others

Rank for the variable with the same frequency.

𝑅1+𝑅2
R= 2

Where:

R1 = is the rank of one variable as arranged in chronological order

R2 = is the rank of the variable

Statistical Treatment

Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) is used to determine the significant

relationship of two or more variables

Sources Sample Degree Mean F

Of Of Of Square Computed
Variation Square Freedom

Between SSB 𝐷𝑓𝑏 =k - 1

𝑆𝑆𝐵
MSB=𝐷𝑓𝑏 𝑀𝑆𝐵
Within SSW 𝐷𝑓𝑤 =N - K FC=𝑀𝑆𝑊

Total TSS 𝐷𝑓𝑡 =N - 1 MSW=𝐷𝑓𝑤

𝑆𝑆𝑊
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RATING RATING SCALE DESCRIPTION INTERPRETATION

INTERVAL
Very High
4.50 – 5 5 Strongly Agree Correlation / Very
Significant
Relationship
High Correlation /
3.50 – 4.49 4 Agree Significant
Relationship
Moderate
2.50 – 3.49 3 Neither Correlation /
Average
Relationship

1.50 – 2.49 2 Disagree Low Correlation /

Small Relationship
Very Low
1.00 – 1.49 1 Strongly Disagree Correlation /
Almost No
Relationship
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REFERENCES

https://www.atsb.gov.au/media/3465947/survey_aaaai_1997.pdf

http://www.caap.gov.ph/images/aaiib/2011inc/RP-C7087.pdf

Causal Factors for General Aviation Accidents/Incidents Between January 1984

and October 2004 pdf

Aircraft accidents by older person , released by James L. Harris and approved by

P.V Siegel, M.D. , Federal Aviation Administration

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2014/03/07/1298228/update-light-plane-
crashes-davao-pilot-hurt

http://www.caap.gov.ph/index.php/2013-accidents

http://www.caap.gov.ph/index.php/2011-accidents