The Convention on International Civil Aviation, also known as the Chicago Convention, established the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), on the 7th of December 1944. ICAO’s core mandate, then as today, was to help member states achieve the highest possible degree of uniformity in civil aviation regulations, standards, procedures, and organization. In a big way it has achieved this,…

The Airbus A320 aircraft has three independent hydraulic circuits, namely Green, Yellow, and Blue. Each of these circuits delivers a constant hydraulic fluid pressure of 3000 psi (20684271.88 N/m2, 20684.27188 kPa), to power numerous aircraft components. They are all driven independently and have separate reservoirs to ensure redundancy in case of failure of one or…

SkydrolTM is a phosphate ester-based hydraulic fluid manufactured in the United States by Eastman Chemical Company based in Kingsport, Tennessee. It contains several oil additives dissolved into a phosphate ester base to make it highly corrosion resistant and fire resistant, then dyed purple mainly to help become identifiable. These excellent properties have made it among…

Standards and Recommended Practices for Aircraft Accident Inquiries were first adopted on 11th April 1951, pursuant to Article 37 of the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation (1944), and were designated as Annex 13 to the Convention. The Standards and Recommended Practices for Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation defines an accident as an occurrence associated…