I was delighted to read (Flight International, 4-10 February) that the European Joint Aviation Authorities is set to approve single-engine commercial instrument flight rules (IFR) operations. It has taken 17 years for Europe to accept the proven superior safety characteristics of modern turbine-powered aircraft over those of IFR-approved light twins.
It was 1986 when the UK Civil Aviation Authority rejected requests and appeals from Federal Express to introduce Cessna Caravans in the UK as an essential part of its plan to develop an express network.
FedEx, which now operates 259 single turbine-engined aircraft in its small-feeder network, had chosen the aircraft after two years of intensive study to introduce a small aircraft capable of serving isolated areas with reliability and safety standards exceeding those of the light twins available at that time.
Single-engined turbine-powered aircraft have been operating under IFR conditions in France, Norway and other European countries for many years. We are fortunate that that operators in the UK will soon have the opportunity of providing the same improved safety and reliability standards that their colleagues in the rest of the world have enjoyed for years.
Frank Price East Molesey, Surrey, UK
Source: Flight International
