All Ops & safety articles – Page 1441
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Intercontinental
Colombia's director of civil aviation, Alvaro Rad Gomez, has said that the Intercontinental de Aviacion McDonnell Douglas DC-9-14 which crashed on 11 January appears to have exploded at 14,000ft (4,250m) during its descent for Cartagena, Colombia. Two minutes after the crew had radioed to clear its descent, the 28-year-old DC-9 ...
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Pilots to influence flight-time limits?
Sir - On flight-time limitations, you say ("Duty bound", Flight International, 14-20 December, P32) that: "The International Federation of Airline Pilots' Associations (IFALPA) is convinced that the proposed European rules are dangerous..." It is entirely legitimate that professional bodies should say and do whatever they can to further ...
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FAA to run icing tests on major turboprop models
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC THE US FEDERAL Aviation Administration is to examine how a range of turboprop airliners behaves in icing conditions, following its new directives relating to the ATR 42 and 72 (Flight International, 18-24 January). Extensive testing of ATR aircraft in the wake of the ...
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Comparison means objectivity
Sir - The letters from Capt John Lewis and D R MacDonald (Flight International, 21 December-3 January, P46) include some emotive comments and inaccuracies. Safety is Airbus Industrie's top priority - as I am sure that it is with other manufacturers - and we welcome objective discussion on ...
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Middle Eastern airlines report mixed results
CARRIERS IN THE Middle East are looking for an upturn in 1995, improving on a patchy performance over the past year among the region's national carriers. Privatisation also remains on the agenda. Saudi Arabian carrier Saudia could be back on course for break-even this year because of an ...
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Pilots enjoy job boom as US airlines increase personnel
US AIRLINES HIRED more than 8,000 new pilots in 1994, up by 55% over 1993, says Aviation Information Resources (AIR). The Atlanta, Georgia-based consultancy forecasts that US carriers will recruit more than 9,000 new pilots in 1995. AIR says that the 201 US airlines it monitors hired 8,044 ...
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China Yunnan 767s replace 757 order
CHINA YUNNAN Airlines' recently announced order for three Rolls-Royce RB.211-524H-powered Boeing 767-300s (Flight International, 18-24 January) replaces a previously unannounced order for three 757-200s. The Kunming-based carrier had been scheduled to receive three 757s from state-owned China Aviation Supplies (CASC). The aircraft are among 13 RB.211-535-powered 757s originally ...
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Entertainment problem hits delivery of Cathay's A330
DELIVERY OF the first Rolls-Royce Trent 700-powered Airbus A330 to Cathay Pacific Airways has been delayed by problems with the aircraft's Matsushita inflight-entertainment (IFE) system. Cathay was due to accept the aircraft in mid-January, but that has slipped to 23 February because of "teething problems with the Matsushita ...
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FAA restricts R22/44 but resists grounding
THE US FEDERAL Aviation Administration is placing highly restrictive airworthiness directives (AD) on Robinson Helicopter R22 and R44 light helicopters in an effort to prevent mast-bumping and rotor/fuselage strikes. Its actions stop well short, however, of the grounding recommended by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) pending ...
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NASA plans new spacelab mission
NASA IS PLANNING TO FLY a new multi-disciplinary life and microgravity sciences Spacelab research mission on the Space Shuttle Columbia STS78 flight in 1996. The picture shows six of the crew of the earlier STS47 Spacelab mission. The new 16-day mission, with a crew of seven, will involve 21 investigations, ...
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New momentum, but little new in safety summit
A two-day aviation safety .summit held in Washington DC on 9-10 January produced a list of 70 safety recommendations for the US Federal Aviation Administration and the US airline industry. The meeting, attended by 1,000 airline executives, safety officials, pilots and aircraft manufacturers, was held in the wake ...
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Information required, please, on the Fairey Gannet
Sir - I am researching UK carrier aircraft and would like to make contact with the designers, pilots and engineers who flew and maintained any Fairey Gannet. Is there a flyable aircraft somewhere? Where can one be seen? Those residing in the USA can call collect to ISAM, Neil ...
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Expensive mistakes
The number of airline accidents rose a little in 1994, and insurance costs beat all records. David Learmount/LONDON World airline accident fatalities increased in 1994, compared with 1993, and exceeded the decade annual average. The increase is an insignificant variation in the context of annual figures during the ...
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Germany embarks on GPS testing
THE GERMAN air-navigation-services agency, the DFS, has begun a satellite-navigation test programme which could lead to satellite-based non-precision approaches being allowed this year. The programme, begun in December, 1994, is being carried out in co-operation with the Federal Aviation Office (LBA) and Nuremberg-based regional carrier Eurowings. ...
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ILS less effective than the MLS
Sir - Mr Montel's proposal for differential instrument landing systems (ILS) (Flight International, Letters, 14-20 December, 1994, P44) does not address another principal disadvantage of the ILS - its inability to be used to determine the position of the aircraft other than within a narrow angle close to the glideslope. ...
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Too close for comfort
The TCAS 2 mandate is being met as the FAA pushes the TCAS 1. Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC For the past year, all civil airliners with more than 30 seats operating in or into the USA have been equipped with the traffic-alert and collision-avoidance system (TCAS). ...
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China loses satellite following fuel loss
Tim Furniss/LONDON CHINA'S FIRST three-axis stabilised, advanced 24 C-band, communications satellite has been declared a loss in geostationary orbit (GEO) after all its reserves of attitude-control propellants were prematurely exhausted (Flight International, 11-17 January). The 1,000kg satellite failed to reach its planned operational station, having reached ...
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Orders hit the bottom
Orders for jet-powered airliners in 1994 were the worst for more than a decade Kevin O'Toole/LONDON The jet-airliner market provided little to shout about in 1994, but the performance may prove more encouraging than some of the headline figures suggest. Boeing is right to point out ...
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Insurers face record claims bill
Kevin O'Toole/LONDON THE GROWING COST of passenger-liability claims has begun to raise alarm in insurance markets, following early predictions that 1994 was a record year for airline losses. The total bill for major hull and liability losses on Western-built passenger jets leapt to more than $1.5 ...