integrity of safety harness and lifing

[josher]

How can it be that the LAA issues an Airworthiness Alert on Non-EASA (GA) Aircraft Safety Harness Integrity
http://www.lightaircraftassociation.co. ... ess_sn.pdf
and then fails to alert anyone!

I learnt of this from the CAA consultation just issued with regard to lifing of harnesses in non EASA aircraft
https://consultations.caa.co.uk/ga/seat ... -integrity
which closes on 1st January.

The Airworthiness Alert was issued on August 1st. It can be found if you go looking but has received no mention on the website or in the magazine or by email by those subscribing to the LAA email service. Not much ‘alerting’ there then!

The matter of lifing of harnesses is of concern for every aircraft in the LAA fleet and I look forward to hearing the LAA response to the CAA consultation in the December magazine

[Chris Martyr]

But Malcolm , It's there in the 'Aircraft & Technical' sidebar on the home page of the website.

It is only in its consultative stage and personally , I do not want to see harnesses in normal non-aerobatic PtF types become 'lifed' items.

At the moment , there is perfectly enough provision in an aircraft maint. schedule to accommodate the inspection of belts/harnesses . I use CAP-411 LAMS Schedule as a guide and it is detailed there in the 50hr check , item 23 .

What were you expecting the LAA to do , over and above what is already in place in LAA's rather well ordered remit of oversight ?

[Brian Hope]

I suggest you take a look at Page 44 of the September magazine Malcolm.

Two of the Alerts cover non-aircraft specific topics and the first,
Safety Harness Integrity, is a joint CAA/LAA initiative designed to bring the issues
surrounding the quality management of the many different types of safety harness
fitted to Permit to Fly types to the surface. This initiative was mounted in response
to a recommendation from the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB), following
an incident where one pilot died and the other was seriously injured after seat belts
failed during a forced landing.

There's even a picture of Airworthiness Alerts and another of a failed safety belt.

[josher]

What am I expecting the LAA to do? If the LAA issues a safety based airworthyness alert I would have thought that it should alert it's members - as a minimum via the front page of the website and idealy in the magazine. So far as I can see this alert was placed in the airworthynes alerts tab at the beginning of august - end of. I think the LAA does many things well but communication with members is woeful and this is a good example

[Chris Martyr]

Malcolm old chum...

I think you may be over-estimating the urgency of this airworthiness alert . Of course we all need to be aware of its presence , but it doesn't necessarily mean that we all need to be sending our straps off for proof-loading or carrying out immediate replacements . The very fact that you've posted about it here means that you are aware of it .

I'm sure that if the belts/harnesses in your aeroplane were worn to the point of imminent failure , then either yourself or your Inspector would've picked up on it .

The big , big plus with having an aeroplane on a PtF , is that a lot of common-sense , knowledge and experience go into keeping it airworthy .

Let's try and avoid getting into the philosophy of 'lifing' aircraft components . Replacing them 'on-condition' makes far more sense . Hopefully , this is what the 'Feds' are trying to ascertain .

This is nothing new . I'm sure there was a similar AD that came out about 30yrs ago , for Tiger Moth's and other old relics with 60yr old seat belt webbing.

[josher]

Very gently done Brian. made a bit of a tiot of myself there. I checked the magazines twice before posting. I think my obsession is affecting my cognative capability! Obsession remains.

Chris Overthe years the lifing of Tiger Moth sutton harness you referred to [10yrs] has condemned many perfectly serviceable harness to the bin. As a tiger moth flyer this perhaps explains my sensitivity on the issue.

[Donald Walker]

Lifing seat belts would be ridiculous. For starters, they are manufactured with material which is affected by sunlight, and no two aircraft are exposed to the same amount of sunlight.

[Chris Martyr]

made a bit of a tiot of myself there.

Hey Malcolm, what's a 'Tiot'.......... ....Be that an old Wiltshire term ?..

It takes a stout fellow to acknowledge his errors .

Lucky I'm perfect though innit ..

[josher]

Chris it's a tit with finger trouble!

Malcolm