FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1960
1960 - 0323.PDF
FLIGHT, 4 March 1960 323 PILOTS AND RADIATION FOR two years IFALPA, the International Federation of AirlinePilots, has been concerned about the degree of radiation towhich crews may be exposed in the course of their duties. Follow- ing the recent French atomic-bomb tests in the Sahara, IFALPAmembers en route over this area carried out geiger-counter checks to compare the degree of radiation with the "normal background"measured earlier in the year, which was of the order of 0.05 to 0 10 millirem/hr. On February 13, between 22 and 41 hours after the explosion,readings were taken on a southbound and on a northbound flight between Tripoli and Kano. Readings up to 50 times higher thanthe "normal background" previously measured were recorded. IFALPA say they are aware that the radiation levels recordedappear to be less than those quoted for the normal X-ray dose, but say that such a comparison may be misleading. The Federationis of die opinion that "some authoritative quantitive statement of the maximum tolerable 'breathing5 and 'whole body' doses isrequired." Their enquiries over the past year have not been suc- cessful, and they feel that the public as well as their members havea right to know. Meanwhile IFALPA will "continue to monitor the neighbourhood of all future atomic explosions and to publishthe results." STARWAYS IN THE CLEAR AFTER a seven-hour hearing at Altrincham, Cheshire, on• February 22, Starways were cleared of charges that a DC-3 was operated overloaded and not in compliance with the con-ditions of its Certificate of Airworthiness on a flight from Perpignan to Manchester. The prosecution alleged that the maximum permissible weightof the DC-3 was 28,0001b (12,700kg). The load sheet, signed by Capt P. H. Meadway, showed that before take-off the aircraftweighed 12,704kg, but that this figure had not taken into account 272kg of fuel remaining in the tanks before refuelling. With otherfactors the DC-3 was "something close to 400kg" overloaded, which meant that "if it had run into freak weather, or if an enginehad failed, the crew and 34 passengers might have been in danger." Capt Meadway, whose 15,000hr include 6,000hr on DC-3s, said:"Nobody but a fool would dream of putting on a pound more than necessary to get off. As a pilot trained in the old school, my firstconsideration is for the safety of my passengers. If this extra weight had been present, I could not have helped noticing it." Counsel for Capt Meadway said that he may have been a littlefoolish in signing the fuel receipt without checking it, but other- wise there was no evidence against his client worth considering. The chairman said "We have listened to this case with con-siderable interest, but we have very considerable doubt in our minds. Under the circumstances we have decided to dismiss thecharges." THE WORLD'S BIGGEST AIRLINE 'THERE are quite a few claims to the title "World's Biggest-*- Airline," but much depends upon which measure of size is taken. Probably the most generally accepted measure is totalrevenue load ton-miles carried per year. This being so, the world's biggest airline in 1959 (if we exclude Aeroflot, whose traffic figuresare never published) was American Airlines. TWA came second, PanAm third, and United fourth. In terms of passengers carried, as opposed to load ton-miles, theorder was as follows (figures rounded off): (1) American, 7.65m; (2) United, 7.15m; (3) TWA, 5.51m; (4) PanAm, 2.96m.Reverting to the load ton-mile picture, the order of precedence was as follows (figures, in short-ton statute miles rounded off): (1)American, 688m, of which 673m was domestic; (2) TWA, 643m, of which 500m was domestic; (3) PanAm, 625m; (4) United, 617m. A remarkable fact which emerges is that United Air Lines havefallen well below the premier position they held in the previous year, 1958 (see Flight for February 6, 1959). Mr Patterson hasbeen overtaken by not only his keenest rival, C. R. Smith of American, but also by TWA and PanAm. Notwithstanding AirFrance's claim to be the world's biggest airline (based on route mileage flown, perhaps), the French airline carries only about halfthe load ton-miles uplifted by American Airlines. The two British corporations, BOAC and BEA, carry (respec-tively) only about a third and a sixth of the traffic carried by the world's biggest airline. BREVITIES IFALPA's 15th annual conference is due to take place in Istanbulfrom March 22-29. The name proposed for the Latin American "Air Union" Flight, February 19), is Flota Aerea Latino Americana. CPAL have been granted fifth-freedom rights by the PortugueseGovernment between Lisbon and Rome on their Montreal - Rome service. A market survey of European travel has been launched by the Inter-national Travel Market Research Council. Enquiries should be addressed to the ITMRC at 12 St George's Road, London NW11. IATA's 13th annual technical conference is to take place at Lucerne,Switzerland, from May 2-10. Sessions will be held in the Congress Hall under the chairmanship of Knud Hagrup, of SAS, chairman of IATA'sTechnical Committee. The new international airport at Nandi, Fiji, was officially opened lastmonth. New Zealand, Australia and the UK have shared the £3m reconstruction which includes extension of the main runway to 10,500ft.A second runway is 7,200ft long. A pool agreement between Air France and Japan Air Lines coveringthe Polar route between Tokyo and Europe was signed on February 22 in Tokyo. Air France's 707s will operate, with JAL insignia as well astheir own, until JAL's DC-8s enter service in the spring of 1961. An overhead railway linking Vnukovo Airport and Moscow's south-western suburbs is now under consideration. Tracks would be laid over concrete trestles 33-40ft high and about 100ft apart. Coaches wouldeach seat 75 passengers and travel at a height of about 20ft above ground. LOT have decided to buy a fleet of Baade BB-152 jet transports fromE. Germany, for service in mid-1962. A contract for three Il-18s has meanwhile, it is reported, been signed with the USSR. The Polishairhne studied "all available types," including the Comet 4B, Caravelle, and Viscount 810, before deciding its re-equipment programme. The North Atlantic jet surcharge, which was to have been discontinuedon March 1, will remain in force until April 30—along with the other unresolved" I ATA fares which are due to expire on March 31. TheJA1A traffic conference's secret discussions in Paris, which began on February 24, were last week said by V. H. L. du Boureq, chairman, tooe progressing satisfactorily." According to a report in the New York Times the Russians havesubmitted the Tu-114 for noise tests by the Port of New York authority, inis revives speculation about possible Soviet plans for the introductionif Wv seirvices between the USA and the USSR. According to a statement oy tne deputy transport manager of Aeroflot, Georgiy Peskov, the Tu-114K.v ejKt °Per.aQ"onal service this spring. This is some six months oerond the original schedule quoted by Aeroflot in Moscow last May. The formation of a new air transport company in Nigeria, Aero Con-tractors Nigeria Ltd, has been announced in Amsterdam. The president of the new company is Bank Anthony, a Lagos industrialist. Dove G-AMKT owned by Gulf Aviation and on hire to HuntingAerosurveys crashed and was written off near Lahore, Pakistan, on February 19. The pilot, C. Veitch, and the co-pilot, Mr Burnham, werekilled. The engineer, Mr Morgan, was seriously injured. Hunting-Clan announce the appointment of H. St. George Bond asHCA representative in Geneva, a new post to promote "the general advancement of Hunting-Clan interests in the Common Market countriesand in Switzerland and Austria." These interests include charters, con- tracts, inclusive tours and scheduled services, and the Africargo service. Soon to take up a new appointment in Australia is Douglas Laurie. TAA remind us that he has "spent £10m on British aircraft in the five years he has been TAA's UK manager." He is succeeded in London by Ross Meehan The Peruvian airline APSA is reported tohave ordered two Lockheed Electras for delivery in May and June 1961. They will beused on the airline's routes linking Lima with Panama City and Buenos Aires. The order, ifconfirmed, will bring the Lockheed Electra order book to 174. Losses of BOAC Associated Companies are "not expected to be morethan £|m in the next financial year," according to a statement by Lord Mills, Paymaster General, in the House of Lords. Pipeline delivery of aviation fuel to London Airport is to start thismonrh. Two 6in pipes, running nine miles underground from Walton- on-Thames, will feel two Shell-Mex and BP storage points at the airport.Up to now road tankers have delivered fuel from Purfleet and Shellhaven: a daily average of 40 tankers has been needed for the round trips ofabout 80 and 100 miles to the airport and back. The cause of the accident to the BOAC Comet 4 G-APDL which madea wheels-up landing at Rome on December 23 is now established. In answer to a Flight enquiry, a BOAC spokesman last week said: "Thecorporation has now completed its investigation into the incident. This has shown that there was no fault in the system and that when theaircraft landed the landing gear was in the retracted position. Disciplinary action has been taken."
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
