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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 1569.PDF
FLIGHT, 26 October 1961 673 Three of the five Canadian CL-44s ordered by Seaboard World Airlines have now been delivered, and are at present operating on this all-freight carrier's scheduled services between New York and Europe, as well as on MATS charter work. It is possible, if government approval is forth- coming, that joint CL-44 services with Lufthansa will be operated in the markings of both carriers MOUNTAIN SHADOWSM ANY questions have been asked in recent weeks about inde-pendent-airline safety standards, but no one has yet drawn attention to the fact that, in less than four years, six aircraftoperated by independents have flown into mountains or high ground, with the loss of 156 passengers and crew. The latest wasthe BKS DC-3 on October 17 (see page 674). The following table tells the disquieting story: Date 27. 2.58 23. -4.59 19. 8.59 9. 8.61 7.10.61 17.10.61 Aircraft Type Bristol 170 Super Trader DC-3 Viking DC-3 DC-3 Operator Silver City Air Charter Transair Cunard Eagle Derby BKS Fatalities Pass. 35 — 29 36 31 — Crew — 12 3 3 4 Location Winter Hill Mi 5uphanTurkey NEof Barcelona 21 miles NE of Stavanger Canigou 9 miles E of Penrith Circumstances Hit high ground en route Hie mountain en route Hit mountain en route Hit mountain in approach phase Hit mountain en route Hit high ground on approach It would be naive in the extreme to suggest that any conclusioncan be drawn from this monotonously similar sequence of tragedies. But it is reasonable to ask whether even one of these accidents mighthave been avoided had the aircraft concerned (all, incidentally, were piston types) been fitted with cloud/collision-warning radar.Four of the six accidents occurred en route, when the incidental terrain-painting properties of radar can warn crews in doubt abouttheir position or safety height of the proximity of high ground. In the USA the FAA has made the installation of radar manda-tory on all US civil transport aircraft, with the exception of the DC-3 and the C-46, which cruise above 25,000ft. The installationof radar is not mandatory in this country, though of course it is fitted by BO AC in 707s. Comets, DC-7Cs'and Britannias. by BE Ain Vanguards and Comets, and by Cunard Eagle and British United in Britannias, DC-6s and Viscounts. A Ministry of Aviation ruling of the kind applied by the FAAnearly two years ago now would obviously cost the UK airline industry a lot of money—as it has the US industry. The primarycontribution of radar to air safety is in the avoidance of bad weather. Terrain-painting provides a useful cross-check on navigation; butits value also to crews who are uncertain of their position or safety height is not to be disputed. Asked by Flight last week whether theMinistry is proposing to make mandatory the fitting of radar in British civil aircraft, a spokesman said: "We have been discussingwith operators for some time the possibility of introducing legisla- tion to make the fitting of radar mandatory on certain types ofaircraft on certain routes." FIRST SUPERSONIC ORDER ? AT the end of a conventional announcement that Panair doBrasil had signed a contract with Sud-Aviation on October 16for four Caravelle 6s, with an option on two more. Interavia Air Letter records the surprising (and as yet unconfirmed) news that Historic milestone in the production of the Boeing 727 was the loading of thefirstjig, oneventwhich took place recently at the company's transport division at Renton, Wash- ington. The component is the first fuselage bulk- head. First fight will be in the autumn of 1962 Panair's contract also includes a letter of intent for the purchase ofthree supersonic Super Caravelles. If this is so, it will go down in history as the first commitment entered into by any airline forsupersonic re-equipment; and it is the more surprising because Panair do Brasil has not (so far as is known) been among the hand-ful of airlines that have expressed any enthusiasm for supersonics— as have Qantas, Continental and Lufthansa. Delivery of the first Caravelle 6 is scheduled for next April, thesecond in May and two more in June, with the two optional aircraft following 18 months later, if ordered.Not surprisingly, no delivery dates are quoted for the Super Caravclle; this "contract" was negotiated by Douglas, who will bein a position to benefit from Sud's supersonic design experience and who eventually, perhaps, will sell Super Caravelles to Americanoperators. It is interesting to speculate on whether Pan American, which is reported to have sold its 30 per cent holding in Panair doBrasil, had any influence on the Brazilian carriers supersonic aspirations. UN CRASH STILL A MYSTERY AN extensive investigation into the Transair Sweden DC-6Bcrash at Ndola in which Mr Hammarskjold was killed hasso far failed to determine any probable cause. The report issued by the Rhodesian Federation Government states that it will, as soon aspossible, invite nominations to a five-member public commission of enquiry to continue the investigation. Nominees would be invitedfrom Sweden, Britain. ICAO and the United Nations. The report says that the crew issued a false flight-plan beforeleaving Leopoldville, giving the destination as Luluaborg with Leopoldville as an alternate. According to a Rhodesian Govern-ment statement, the true destination of Ndola and the route to be taken were kept secret from the aeronautical authorities. The investigators' task cannot have been made easier by suchsecurity precautions, and there is always the risk in an accident of this nature of political pressures being brought to bear to suppressvital information. The initial enquiry showed that the DC-6B's undercarriage was down and locked, and the flaps were partiallyextended; the engines were operating "under some power" at the time of impact. Details and times of the flight are given in the report, which showthat the DC-6B maintained radio silence for four hours before calling Salisbury, when the destination was given as Ndola. Theaircraft reported over Lake Tanganyika half an hour later, indi- cating that it was not flying on the direct Leopoldville-Ndola route.A preliminary report issued by pathologists (Flight, October 5) after detailed examination of the bodies dispelled suggestions thatthe aircraft was fired on or that there was an in-flight explosion. The Federation Government statement said that the board ofenquiry had been in continuous session since September 18 and was "still in the process of collecting all the available evidence." CATHAY PACIFIC TO ORDER JETS ? RECENTLY rumours have been circulating that Cathay Pacific,the British independent based in Hong Kong, would orderjets to meet competition on their Far East services, although the carrier has always denied these stories. A correspondent in Australia reports that Mr Ansett, whosecompany has a shareholding in Cathay Pacific (BOAC also has a 15 per cent share), has said that Cathay has definitely ordered oneConvair 880. He also said that the company is to suspend its twice-weekly Sydney-Hong Kong Electra service in November,because Qantas will introduce Boeing 707s on their Sydney-Hong Kong and Sydney-Tokyo services before Christmas. Qantas atpresent operates four services weekly on the Sydney-Hong Kong route with two continuing to Tokyo, and one on the Sydney-Tokyoroute, all with Electras. Due to the introduction of 707s by Qantas, CPA's Electras will not be competitive, particularly as their fre-quency is only twice-weekly. CPA's routes are highly competitive and it is not surprising that the carrier, although clearly not wantingto re-equip with jets due to the heavy financial commitment involved, has had to reconsider its earlier decision. According to our correspondent, Mr Ansett is making a stronger-than-ever bid to buy Cathay Pacific, in his effort to expand into the overseas business.
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