Alexander Velovich/MOSCOW
THE ANTONOV AN-70 four-engine military transport-aircraft programme faces collapse following the loss of the prototype aircraft, only two months after its first flight.
The prop-fan-powered aircraft crashed on 10 February, following a mid-air collision with an Antonov An-72 Coaler chase aircraft. All seven crew on board the An-70 died in the crash. Although seriously damaged, the An-72 returned safely to base.
Test flights of the An-70 were being carried out from the Gostomel flight-test centre, near Kiev. The aircraft crashed into a forest near the airfield.
The new Antonov is intended to meet Russian and Ukrainian air force requirements for an An-12 Cub replacement.
The fatal flight was intended to explore the aircraft's performance at various speeds with different control-surface deployments.
The chase plane was being flown in formation with the An-70 when the latter aircraft suffered a rapid departure from its intended flight path, according to first reports.
The An-70 passed under the An-72, and its vertical stabiliser hit the An-72's fuselage. The fin was effectively destroyed, while one of the An-70's prop-fan engines also removed part of the An-72's wing. Following the impact, the An-70 entered a spin at an altitude of 10,000ft (3,000m), hitting the ground in an almost vertical attitude.
The emergency flight recorder has been recovered and the accident-investigation committee says that it will be able to examine the flight-parameters data.
At best, the loss will mean an 18-24 month setback in the programme. Antonov began to assemble a second prototype only at the end of l1994.
Within Russia, there is already speculation that the loss of the prototype has effectively sounded the death knell of the programme. A lack of adequate funding has already resulted in long delays to the project.
The crash-investigation commission, is being headed by, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister, Valeriy Shmarov. He estimates the cost of the loss of the aircraft at between $30-50 million.
Source: Flight International
