C E R T A L E R T 

ADVISORY       CAUTIONARY      NON-DIRECTIVE

FOR INFORMATION, CONTACT Ben Castellano , AAS-300 (202) 267.8728

DATE: 	March 1, 2004	No. 04-01	
TO: 	Airport Operators, Airport Rescue Firefighter Mgmt, FAA Airport Certification Safety Inspectors	
TOPIC: 	Passengers and Crew on Cargo Aircraft	

A recent aircraft accident has demonstrated a potential problem with determining the passenger and crew loading on cargo aircraft.

The incident aircraft was a cargo MD-10 (old DC-10).  At the time of this incident, the ARFF crew at the airport assumed that the cargo MD-10 would have no more than 3 crew members aboard, total.  When the incident occurred, it became a no notice Alert 3, without time for Air Traffic (ATCT) personnel to request the routine Alert information including “souls on board.”

Arriving ARFF units were surprised to see 7 personnel egress the aircraft.  A briefing with the cargo operator after the accident revealed that on its MD-10 aircraft, there could be as many as 27 personnel on board, at any time.  Additionally, in some configurations personnel are located in the rear of the fuselage section.  This is usually used during livestock  transportation with the handlers in the rear, but may occur for other reasons.

If, after the accident, the crew was unable to advise ARFF of the total personnel on board, some passengers could be trapped based on an assumption of expected and limited crew.

The FAA suggests that airport operators and/or ARFF crews contact their cargo operators and explore avenues to determine the number of personnel that could possibly be expected on a particular aircraft.  If possible, pre-plan with cargo operations for a way to obtain personnel manifests for incoming flights.  At the minimum, expect that there could be a far greater number of personnel aboard than expected.

_____________OSB ___________________                              3/1/2004
Benedict D. Castellano, Manager
Airport Safety and Operations, AAS-300