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Aviation History
1974
1974 - 0502.PDF
384 FLIGHT International, 28 March 1974 si AIR TRANSPORT DC-IO—FIRST CLAIM FILED A "CLASS-ACTION" SUIT was filed in Los Angeles on March 19 on behalf of the families of passengers killed in the DC-10 crash at Ermenonville on March 3. The claim is for $1 million on behalf of the widow of one victim but it is estimated that the suit will eventually involve a sum exceeding $125 million. A "class-action" suit can be filed when it can be shown that all the claimants fall, legally, within one class. The action alleges carelessness and negligence by McDonnell Douglas. The complications of the airline's liability appear likely to be so great that Mrs Hope has been advised to sue the manufacturer in its own State. Although the passengers were "BEA"-ticketed and as such are each entitled to the Warsaw/Hague/Montreal limit of $75,000, the carrier was registered in Turkey, which is not a party to Warsaw. Previous product-liability cases in the US courts before juries have led to the award of very high damages, even without proof of negligence. The manufacturer has categorically denied allegations that it has been unresponsive on the subject of aircraft safety. According to the New York Times, McDonnell Douglas refused a request from the US Federal Aviation Administration to carry out a study of explosive decom pression. In a letter to the FAA the manufacturer said that it believed the issues involved the whole transport industry^ and that the FAA should consider paying for the study "because of the magnitude of the effort required." "To imply that a different response on our part could have prevented the tragedy is both irresponsible and malicious," said Douglas president John C. Brizendine. "The study proposed to us by the FAA in mid-February," he continued, "involved subjects of industry-wide concern and seemed to warrant a co-operative programme—and we said so." Turning to the circumstances of the Paris accident, Mr Brizendine said, "preliminary evidence obtained so far indicates that the aft bulk-cargo door on that particular aircraft did not incorporate all the approved changes. "All aircraft now flying anywhere in the world have been re-inspected thoroughly to establish beyond doubt that they now do incorporate the necessary changes." Flight understands that a total of 24 service bulletins have been issued by McDonnell Douglas which relate to the cargo doors of the DC-10. Five of these have particular relevance to the security of the door; one preceded the June, 1972, incident at Windsor, Ontario, but the others, including particularly that calling for the installation of door-lock viewing windows, resulted from it. The windows were incorporated on the Turkish Airlines aircraft before delivery. Laker Airways has carried out an extensive modification programme to the cargo doors of its two DC-lOs, both of which now incorporate the "closed-loop" manual locking system. This will be illustrated in detail in an early issue of Flight. NO FURTHER WORK ON MAPLIN . . . NO FURTHER WORK is to be carried out at Maplin, the site of London's third airport. Mr Crosland, Secretary of State for the Environment, made this clear to MPs in the Commons last week. The Government has decided to take a second look at the need for additional runway capacity in the South-East of England in the light of the growing use of the wide-bodied types and the energy crisis. Mr Peter Shore, Trade Secretary, followed up Mr Crosland's statement and told MPs that the Government will be studying the possibility of making greater use of airports in the regions outside the South-East. While the Department of the Environment has to give final approval to all planning decisions, it is the responsibility of the Department of Trade to provide airport capacity for civil aviation. The DoT will carry out the new study backed up by inputs from the British Airports Authority, Civil Aviation Authority and British Airways. No major construction work on either the airport or the seaport has begun but the policy change will cause some upheavals within the BAA. There is no doubt that there will be a runway capacity problem in the early 1980s and a planning decision is needed soon. While the BAA plays a neutral policy in planning decisions—it being a Government prerogative to plan, modify or abandon plans for new airports—there is no doubt that senior executives have shown a measure of enthusiasm for the Maplin concept. . . . BUT MANCHESTER EXPANDS MANCHESTER RINGWAY's new international terminal was opened on March 25, four years after the idea to expand the airport was first conceived. The completion deadline was not dictated by normal construction times—- rather by the need to have the terminal in operation this summer when the first wide-bodied aircraft become regular visitors. Some £10 million has been spent in the past three years. It is expected that eventually 6 million passengers will use Ringway annually, compared with 2-4 million in 1973. It is forecast that up to 80 per cent of future passengers will arrive by car. The new international pier and transit lounge is over 600ft long, allowing it to accept up to four wide-bodied and one conventional aircraft at the same time. The lounges have a capacity for up to 1,600 people. Fuel storage has been increased by 300 per cent to l,300,000gal. Ringway, now the third largest airport in England, will probably make a loss during the next two to three years, due to the costs of expansion, but profits are confidently expected once it becomes established as a truly international airport. PAN AM—TWA AGREEMENT ON ATLANTIC? PAN AM has asked the American Civil Aeronautics Board for permission to hold talks on cost-cutting measures on transatlantic services with TWA. Both airlines are facing severe financial difficulties and it is thought unlikely that TWA will object to Pan Am's proposals. Pan Am says that "without bold new steps by Pan Am and TWA to restructure and consolidate their transatlantic services, both airlines will incur losses so large as to undercut their basic financial position and force discon tinuance of vital international services." Pan Am has already asked for some form of financial subsidy (see Flight for February 4, page 191). Air Gabon has ordered two F.28 Mk 2000s for delivery this July. Total F.28 sales have now reached 80. Eastern Airlines say that the dispatch reliability of its TriStars is now better than competing wide-bodied transports. The premature removal rate for the RB.211 has fallen to 0-9 per l,000hr. New 747SP order China Airlines, the flag carrier of Taiwan, said recently that it will order the 747SP. Mr Bruce Hong, CAL commercial manager, said earlier this month that the would like delivery at the end of next year or the beginning of 1976. CAL has already held discussions with a number of airlines about the possibility of leasing a 747-100 or 747-200 as a stopgap.
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