CAL’s aging ATRs

WE JOIN with the rest of the country in breathing a sigh of relief that the scary incident involving Caribbean Airlines (CAL) Tobago flight BW 1541 on January 27 was not a more serious one.

The ATR 72-600 aircraft involved made a relatively smooth emergency landing at the Piarco International Airport, despite an apparent fuel problem with one of its engines. Its pilot has been praised. Its crew have been credited with keeping passengers calm, notwithstanding what must have been a frightening announcement from the cockpit to brace for impact. This is all commendable.

Still, CAL should clearly explain what occurred, notwithstanding the account given by its line minister, Colm Imbert, in the Senate on January 28.

The airline needs to pay particular attention needs to the concerns raised by pilots about its aging ATR fleet.

With planes, age is just a number.

The total number of flight hours, the number of takeoffs and landings, and the number of pressurisation cycles are often more important.

However, about half of these ATRs are more than a decade old. In some other airlines, the average age of similar fleets is about six years.

And these planes are under great pressure, given the demands for the routes they serve, particularly as it relates to Tobago. On a good day, there can be at least eight 20-minute flights between Trinidad and Tobago. That’s thousands of flights on that one route alone a year.

As observed by the TT Airline Pilots Association, there have been several incidents involving CAL’s ATR aircraft.

In January 2024, one lost a nose wheel.

In 2019, there was a fracture of a propeller trunnion pin on another Tobago flight.

Between 2017 and 2015, there were engine-fire indications on a St Lucia flight and six Tobago flights.

In 2015, a hydraulic leak was reported on a flight from Grenada to Piarco.

In 2012, a mayday was issued on a Venezuela flight after an engine panel detached and an engine fire was indicated. It was later determined there had been no fire.

The frequency of these incidents possibly reflects both the composition of the total CAL fleet, about half of which are ATRs, and the fact that the planes are put to frequent use.

But these issues clearly point to the fact that while many of these aircraft were delivered between 2020 and 2023, some were delivered as long ago as 2011.

Globally the average age of a plane is increasing, as airlines grapple with supply-chain issues.

Notwithstanding this, there is a need for CAL to keep its aging fleet and its usual protocols under review, including considering the lease of more and newer planes, as previously announced.