Fatigue: factor in 747 crash in Halifax
Fatigue, training may have played role in Halifax plane crash
(CBC) - Investigators looking into the crash of a Boeing 747 cargo plane at Halifax Airport almost a year ago say fatigue and insufficient training may have been factors in the incident.
Transportation Safety Board investigator Bill Fowler says his team believes there was not adequate training on the software used to determine the throttle setting for the MK Airlines aircraft.
Fowler says his team also believes fatigue may have been an issue. The seven crew members who died had been on a 19-hour shift, and were set to work 10 more hours before a scheduled landing in Spain.
All seven died when the cargo-laden plane crashed while taking off on the morning of Oct. 14, 2004. Investigators and eyewitnesses said the plane's tail hit the runway twice before plowing into nearby woodlands.
A representative of MK, a British-owned cargo firm based in Ghana, says there had been no indications of problems using the equipment before the crash and that the staff had normal breaks.