All Safety News – Page 1443
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British Midland reveals Eurostar impact
Kevin O'Toole/LONDON BRITISH MIDLAND (BM) admits that competition from the Channel Tunnel rail link from London to Paris and Brussels effectively halved its potential profits in 1995, but group chairman Sir Michael Bishop says that the airline has now weathered the worst of the Tunnel's impact. Although the airline managed ...
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Muddy waters
THE GREATEST problem of aircraft-accident investigation is not the disappearance of the evidence into a Florida swamp or the unreadability of data-recorder tapes. It is the demand by the mass media and its customers for instant answers, and the temptation of those on the periphery of the investigation to give ...
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FAA investigates ValuJet
IN FEBRUARY 1996, the FAA initiated a 120-day Special Emphasis Review because of the low-fare carrier's exceptionally high growth-rate and four safety-related incidents in January and February 1996. On 14 May, FAA administrator David Hinson denied that low-cost airlines, such as ValuJet, are in any way less safe ...
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Oxygen canister cargo
THE VALUJET DC-9's cargo manifest reveals that up to 60 oxygen generators of a type used to supply passenger emergency oxygen masks in DC-10s and MD-80s were being carried as cargo to Atlanta, ValuJet's base. If charged, the generators can produce considerable heat when activated, scorching nearby material or fabric, ...
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Unions up in arms over Air France Europe cuts
WAGE AND JOB CUTS designed to turn round Air France's heavily loss-making domestic operations have been roundly condemned by unions, which are due to meet the management on 22 May to discuss the latest survival plan. Air France chairman Christian Blanc, presenting details of the plan, played ...
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Planetary passport
Will there ever be a universal pilot's licence? David Learmount/LONDON LIKE THE "UNIVERSAL" language Esperanto, a world-standard for pilots' licences seems like a good idea, but no-one puts it into practice. Unemployed pilots dream of being able to follow work wherever in the world the ...
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Training must be a viable industry
Sir - I refer to your leader "Unique Internationalism" and story "AST becomes first victim of UK training policy" (Flight International, 8-14 May, P3, P6). Rumours of the demise of Air Services Training (AST) predate either National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) or foreign training. In fact, the school is ...
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JAR-FCL update
THE JAR-FCL COMMITTEE meeting to approve draft five of the regulations was held in Dublin, Ireland, during the week ending 10 May. Draft five, having taken account of all input, is intended to form the JAR-FCL regulation for fixed-wing-aircraft pilots. JAR-FCL Part Two, for helicopter pilots, is not ready yet. ...
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Wicat pulls in trainer sales
WICAT SYSTEMS has secured contracts for McDonnell Douglas MD-80, MD-90 and MD-11 part-task trainers and unveiled plans to develop similar devices for the Boeing 777. SAS Flight Academy, part of Scandinavian Airlines System, has ordered an MD-90 systems trainer for delivery in the third quarter of 1996. It ...
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FlightSafety fields its first cabin trainer
FLIGHTSAFETY International (FSI) has installed its first business-aircraft cabin trainer at its Atlanta, Georgia, training centre. The device, built by FSI's Simulation Systems division, is being used for corporate flight-attendant training. The 12m-long cabin and door/hatch trainer represents a Gulfstream business jet, but is being used to provide ...
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Location decision for third Paris airport delayed
THE PLAN FOR a third international airport in the Paris region has run into further trouble following another bout of political infighting over its location. President Chirac's Government has previously said that the decision on the location of the airport is a priority, to prepare for the expected ...
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BA near to active-noise-control headset decision
BRITISH AIRWAYS is expected to place an order for 3,400 active-noise-control headsets for its pilots by the end of this month. Germany's Sennheiser and Bose of the USA are bidding for the contract, which could be worth over £1 million ($1.6 million). The UK airline decided to opt ...
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UPS may package passengers
Graham Warwick/ATLANTA UPS Airlines is considering operating weekend passenger-charter services using otherwise-idle cargo aircraft. As a first move, quick-change conversion kits for five Boeing 727-100 freighters are being considered as a way to increase aircraft utilisation. The results of a study into the feasibility of offering passenger-charter services to tour ...
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Sabena crew deal paves way to cost cutting
SABENA HAS TIED UP a deal with its pilots over the crewing of the group's incoming fleet of Avro RJ85 regional jets and says that it has had "very constructive" negotiations with its unions over the broader cost-cutting measures. Although the RJ85 fleet will be operated within regional subsidiary Delta ...
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DASA prepares 328 cryoplane
DAIMLER-BENZ Aerospace (DASA) is to go ahead with a programme to convert a Dornier 328 turboprop to a hydrogen-fuelled testbed late this year. "The aim is to use the knowhow gained with the Dornier 328...for Airbus applications at a later date," says DASA. The project, now in ...
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Power Pool
THE COMMERCIAL-ENGINES business is among the biggest of big-risk businesses, and the risk is seldom bigger than when a new engine is required for an as-yet-unproven large airliner. So it should come as no surprise that two engine manufacturers should pool resources to minimise the risk of participating in such ...
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China to invest in ATC updates
CHINA IS PLANNING TO spend about 6 billion yuan ($720 million) on updating its air-traffic-control (ATC) systems. Bao Peide, deputy director of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), says that 440 million yuan will be spent making the system fully communications, navigation and surveillance/air-traffic management compatible. The balance will ...
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Saab 2000 'main problem' is more to do with speedy service
Sir - I read the story on the Saab 2000 "Deutsche BA suspends deliveries" (Flight International, 10-16 April, P5). I believe that the aircraft deserves better publicity than this. As a pilot who has had 18 months' experience of flying the 2000 through two European winters, I am able to ...
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Small-aircraft owners catch on to self-fuelling
PERRY MAINTENANCE has purchased self-service-refuelling specialist Cornerstone and formed a new division, Perry Aviation Refueling (PAR). Fuel supplier Air BP, meanwhile, has launched a self-service aviation fuel card, which customers will be able to use at selected fixed-base operators (FBOs). Indiana-based PAR says that self-service refuelling at FBOs ...
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New entrant
Tim Furniss/LONDON A NEW ENTRANT in the commercial-launcher market will have its debut on 25 May with the lift-off of Europe's Ariane 5. The first flight will carry four Cluster science satellites, on the first of two European Space Agency-funded demonstration flights. When it enters service ...