Kiwi Defence Force leaves for Antarctica

[Dave Homewood]

Kiwi Defence Force leaves for Antarctica

New Zealand Defence Force staff are preparing to head to Antarctica as the summer season kicks off.

This season things will be done a bit differently, with Kiwi personnel the first to hit the ice. Usually it's an American C-17 aircraft that heads down first.
The first team left this morning on an RNZAF Boeing 757.

It's been no easy task for the RNZAF. Defence Force staff have under gone pre-deployment training in Christchurch to prepare for working on the ice.

Commanding Officer Matt Hill says it's a huge job to prepare for.

"We train for this and build up to it so it's not something that's taken lightly," he says. "Risks are assessed and mitigated and we see the crews trained and we do this to give them experience."

The Defence Force will be overseeing operations and making sure things run smoothly.
"We have to prepare getting the crews ready, so that involves their survival training, personal preparation, flight qualifications and then actually getting down there and doing the flights themselves to expose crews to the mission," says Mr Hill.

The man in charge of operations, Grahame Ayres, says making sure things go according to plan isn't an easy task.

"We invest a lot of time in training, we spend a lot of time with individuals talking about what their aspirations are, what they want to get out of the experience."
Today's crew to head down won't be the last; tomorrow an RNZAF Hercules will fly down with cargo – another difficult operation for the teams to pull off.
3 News


Read more: www.3news.co.nz/Kiwi-Defence-Force-leaves-for-Antarctica/tabid/423/articleID/315696/Default.aspx#ixzz2genbAWTS

[beagle]

watched the Herk take off today, low and lumbering along.
Had my camera but a fence and building in the way for close up.

[fergi]

Would think that it would be at max take off to go there, any fuel would be good fuel.

[sqwark2k]

RNZAF 757 with Government officials on board landed on the ice below minimal due to weather deteriating after the PNR (point of no return). They held overhead for 2.5hrs hoping for improvement, then made the emergency landing. Well done that crew!

Prob going to highlight the need for AirNZ's b767 ice charters as they have the fuel to go there and back if weather packs in.

[flyjoe180]

Saw the article on TV3 news site. Out of interest does anyone know what the minimum height/visibility for the approach is? What type of approach is it?

[flyjoe180]

Since found it is a Microwave Landing System supported with TACAN and PAPI lights. Apparently there is a white out landing zone which is a 20 square mile piece of flat ice just past the skiway. If pilots can't see enough to safely touch down, they descend very gently onto the flat ice well past any facilities in white out conditions. They then turn around and use the navigation aids to taxi back to the strip. It took a while to find that info, the US Government websites are of no use to anyone at the moment due to funding (or lack thereof).

[ErrolC]

Remember the Virgin 737 that landed on the runway at Mildura - basically landed in fog whiteout using GPS

Sent via Proboards Android App

[ErrolC]

Things are getting more complicated due to US funding issues.

blogs.nature.com/news/2013/10/united-states-suspends-antarctic-research-season.html

United States suspends Antarctic research season
08 Oct 2013 | 21:11 BST | Posted by Lauren Morello | Category: Politics

The US National Science Foundation (NSF) is recalling staff and scientists from Antarctica due to the ongoing US government shutdown. Nearly all science at the three US bases will grind to a halt.

The agency’s decision, posted today, could spell the end of this year’s Antarctic field season at McMurdo, Amundsen-Scott and Palmer stations, depending on the duration of the shutdown, which began on 1 October and shows no signs of ending.


The US base at the South Pole, Amundsen-Scott, will be put in ‘caretaker status’.

Sven Lidstrom, National Science Foundation
The NSF said it would work to restore the research season “to the maximum extent possible” once funding is restored. The agency said, however, that some activities could not be restarted once the evacuation was complete and the seasonal windows for research and operations had passed.

Lockheed Martin, the contractor that runs the US bases for the NSF, had already been preparing to put the facilities in ‘caretaker status’. The company received its last funding from the NSF on 30 September, according to internal e-mails obtained by Nature. In its statement, the NSF said Lockheed had enough money on hand to ensure operations through 14 October.

A skeleton crew will remain to properly maintain each of the three bases, as is normally the practice during the Antarctic off-season, from March to September. During a normal year, roughly 700 scientists head south each year to study Antarctica’s ice, ecosystems and atmosphere from October to February.

Scientists are frustrated that long-term studies will be interrupted. “If we lose a year of observations, they are gone forever,” says Hugh Ducklow, a biological oceanographer at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, New York.

Ducklow is working on a 20-year-old project to monitor the ecosystem near Palmer Station on the Antarctic Peninsula. The work includes an annual census of penguin populations, which have shifted significantly in recent years as the peninsula has warmed. “A number of the remaining colonies of Adélie penguins in our study are so low now that they could go extinct almost any time,” Ducklow says.

The US shutdown could also have repercussions for other nations’ Antarctic research programmes. New Zealand’s Scott Base and the joint French-Italian Concordia Station rely on the US programme for some transportation needs, including helicopter support of field research and access to McMurdo Station’s sea-ice runway, which can handle heavy cargo plane landings. Lisa-Marie Brooks, a spokesperson for Antarctica New Zealand, said in an e-mail that the agency was developing contingency plans to minimize the impact of the US shutdown on its operations but did not offer more details.

[beagle]

Nothing left CHC today. The C17 was supossed to go with some of our fine bread but saw it still sitting there after I finished work.
The B757 was not there but maybe had returned to WP or was it still down there.

[Dave Homewood]

One of our Boeings is with the PM at APEC today, I saw it on the news. he was meeting with a Sultan (of brunei?) next to it.

[ErrolC]

Oct 8, 2013 7:17:50 GMT 12 sqwark2k said:

RNZAF 757 with Government officials on board landed on the ice below minimal due to weather deteriating after the PNR (point of no return). They held overhead for 2.5hrs hoping for improvement, then made the emergency landing. Well done that crew!

Prob going to highlight the need for AirNZ's b767 ice charters as they have the fuel to go there and back if weather packs in.

TAIC Report is out PDF

1.8. However, the Commission found that the risk assessment undertaken when considering the
suitability of the Boeing 757 aircraft type for Antarctic operations had not adequately taken
into consideration five key points:

• the potential consequences of the weather deteriorating were elevated for the Boeing 757
  aircraft because of the lack of alternative approach procedures and aerodromes suitable
  for the aircraft type
• the weather criteria for an aeroplane passing the point of safe return should consider the
  presence of low cloud and fog below the main cloud base as a limiting factor
• there is an increased likelihood of weather conditions deteriorating below minima early in
  the summer season
• the accuracy of instrument approaches should be treated with caution prior to recalibration
  flights being conducted early in the summer season
• the Royal New Zealand Air Force Boeing aircraft is capable of completing only one type of
  instrument approach in Antarctica.

1.9. The Commission recommended that the Chief of Air Force review the risk assessment for
using the Boeing 757 aircraft for Antarctic flight operations, taking into account these matters
and any other matters not considered during the initial risk assessment.

1.10. The key lessons learnt from the inquiry into this occurrence were:

• Effective crew resource management enables a crew to perform as a cohesive unit and
  provides the best opportunity for a safe outcome. This incident demonstrates how a
  properly trained crew was able to function effectively in demanding circumstances and
  make a safe landing.
• An essential element of risk management is the continuous review of the relevance of the
  original assessment and its context, hazards and mitigations. This is especially important
  when there are changes in the circumstances or conditions of the assessment to ensure
  that it remains valid and provides the appropriate level of safety.

[ErrolC]

Final report AO-2013-009 | Page 25
Criticism of Risk Assessment before supplementary type certificate was issued giving approval for Antarctic
operations.

History showed that the weather had deteriorated to or below approach minima after an
aeroplane passed the PSR (Point of Safe Return) on only two occasions out of 650 Antarctica flights in 48 years.
The likelihood of this occurring was therefore reasonably low. What was missing from the risk
assessment were the potential end consequences of an event such as this occurring when
using the Boeing 757, compared with those when using the Hercules aircraft. The
consequence of not being able to complete a visual or instrument approach successfully was
the same for both aircraft – a whiteout landing. However, in the event of this occurring the
likelihood of injury was significantly greater for the Boeing 757, with its long landing gear
supporting low-slung engines on a low wing, than it was for the Hercules with its rough-field
landing capabilities.
4.5.4. Compared with the Hercules, the Boeing 757 had limited alternative approach options or
aerodromes available in the event of the weather suddenly deteriorating below instrument
approach minima. The Hercules was fitted with a tactical air navigation system, commonly
called TACAN, enabling it to fly a range of additional instrument approaches to the various
airfields and runways. The Hercules could divert to Terra Nova Bay, subject to weather
conditions. As a final resort it could also land either at Williams Field or in the whiteout area,
albeit sustaining damage. The only option noted in the risk profile for the Boeing was a “blind”
landing off an instrument approach. From a risk perspective then, the likelihood of the
weather closing in was low, but the potential consequences for Boeing 757 operations were
significantly more serious than were those for the Hercules aircraft.

[Dave Homewood]

Just shows how skilful the crew was that there was no damage or injuries in the event.

[frankly]

3.5.4. In July 2006 a Cabinet Business Committee accepted the advice that Antarctic operations with the Boeing 757 were neither safe nor practicable. However, in December 2006 the Cabinet Policy Committee agreed on the importance of New Zealand retaining a strategic air supply capability for continued Antarctic operations. The committee identified this as a core defence output and concluded that the Boeing 757 as a passenger aeroplane could complement the United States’ C17 Globemaster transport aeroplane, with the Hercules continuing to support both passenger and cargo requirements as required.

Part of the upgrades from 2007 onwards included comms and nav equipment (Nav equipment was identified as being inadequate prior to mods)

It will be interesting how heavily this weighs on the C-17 eval.

[beagle]

yes interesting it didn't mention the differences between C130, C17, C5 and B757

[ErrolC]

Jan 29, 2015 16:43:45 GMT 12 beagle said:

yes interesting it didn't mention the differences between C130, C17, C5 and B757

Which aspects? C-5 isn't used any more, is it?

4.5.13. The Boeing 757 and Hercules
are two large aircraft operating between New Zealand and
Antarctica that require PSRs. The New York Air National Guard Hercules aeroplanes are ski
equipped and have the option of diverting to unprepared areas if required. The Australian modified civil Airbus A319
does not normally operate with a PSR unless it is heavily loaded.
The United States C17 Globemaster usually has a PSR some 20-30 minutes out from landing
at McMurdo. This equates to about the start of the descent for landing. For the C17
Globemaster to continue past the PSR, it requires a minimum 1,500-foot cloud base and
visibility of 4,800 m.

[beagle]

yeah, didn't read the full report till after posting.
They must bring the C5 only to chch now to off load and the rest take that equipment south.

[Dave Homewood]

The other aircraft that past the point of no return from Christchurch and had to carry on was a C-121J Super Constellation which landed in white out on the 8th of October 1970. It hit a snow bank and the starboard undercarriage collapsed. The 12 crew and 68 passengers survived, with only five having minor injuries. The aircraft was named Pegasus, and the runway at Antarctica on the Ross Sea Shelf is now named Pegasus after it.

[ErrolC]

Hey, photo op time!


Chief Of Air Force @caf_NZ

Great way to start 2015 - visiting the NZDF team in Antarctica. Good job

/photo/1

30 Jan 2015 8:48 via iOS

Sent from my D5503 using proboards

[ErrolC]

Jan 29, 2015 22:53:44 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

The other aircraft that past the point of no return from Christchurch and had to carry on was a C-121J Super Constellation which landed in white out on the 8th of October 1970. It hit a snow bank and the starboard undercarriage collapsed. The 12 crew and 68 passengers survived, with only five having minor injuries. The aircraft was named Pegasus, and the runway at Antarctica on the Ross Sea Shelf is now named Pegasus after it.

The Airplane Geeks podcast now has a weekly report from a scientist on The Ice.
The text of his report about Pegasus is at sites.google.com/site/airplanegeeksonice/home/report-2