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Aviation History
1976
1976 - 2125.PDF
FLIGHT International, 25 September 1976 indication of this apparently large basin. The health of the Viking 2 orbiter also remains good, though the craft continues to rely on a back-up stabil isation system. Only 6sec after the lander separated from the orbiter the primary inertial reference unit lost power, probably as a result of the voltage transient which occurred when the pyrotechnics were fired to part the two stages. This apparently blew the fuses on the primary attitude-con trol system, causing the orbiter to tumble out of control. Meanwhile, the lander followed a pre-programmed path and touched down safely. Although picture*-taking began imme diately, the images had to be stored up, and transmission did not begin until the orbiter had stabilised 8hr after the touchdown. Identification of the fault was confused by a change over from the Madrid to Canberra stations of the Deep Space Network, which took place as the orbiter and lander were separating. All the biology experiments are giv ing positive signals, and in general the readings are far stronger than they are at the Viking 1 site. But there is still uncertainty as to whether they represent chemical or biological effects, or an amalgam of the two. Australian ATC works to rule A work-to-rule by Australian air traffic controllers is causing heavy de lays at Sydney and Melbourne air ports. Take-offs are limited to 12 per hour instead of the normal rate of more than 50 per hour. All arrivals must be full instrument landings— even under VFR conditions—and in coming flights are frequently having to resort to holding patterns. To clear delayed pasengers at Sydney, the Australian Transport Department has delayed the start of evening jet cur few from 2300hr to 0030hr. The dispute has arisen from a year- old claim by the air traffic controllers that they should be paid as much as domestic DC-9 captains. This followed an Australian High Court decision in 1971 which apportioned the blame for a collision at Sydney airport 30 per cent each to the aircraft captains and 40 per cent to the controllers on duty at the time. Public-transport accidents The search has been called off for SAETA Viscount HC-ARS, missing on a scheduled flight between Quito and Cuenca. The aircraft was carrying 55 passengers and a crew of four. • Avianca Boeing 720 HK-723 made a heavy landing at Mexico City on September 16. There were no injuries to passengers or crew. • An Aeronaves del Peru CL-44 with seven passengers on board is missing on a flight from Lima to Marquetia, Venezuela. • All the 147 passengers and six crew were killed when Turkish Airlines Boeing 727 TC-JBH crashed 250 miles south-west of Ankara on September 19. The aircraft was flying from Istanbul to Antalya, a Turkish Mediterranean resort. Initial reports said that the aircraft hit Mount Karada. THY FATAL ACCIDENTS SINCE 1970 Fatalities Date Type Location Crew Pax Jan 21, 1972 DC-9 Adana 1 0 Jan 26, 1974 F.28 Cumaovasi 3 62 Mar 5, 1974 DC-10 Paris 11 335 Jan 30, 1975 F.28 Yesilkoy 4 38 Sept 19, 1976 727 Mt Karakaya 6 147 Total 25 582 Zagreb mid-air pilots cleared The pilots of the British Airways Trident and Inex Adria DC-9 involved in the world's worst mid-air collision on September 10 were obeying their air traffic clearances, according to a statement issued last Monday by the Jugoslav authorities (see Flight for September 18, page 872). The statement suggests that re sponsibility for the collision rests with at least two of the five air traffic con trollers on duty at the time. Both air craft were in contact with Zagreb on the same control frequency, but Flight understands! that communications with the DC-9 were being conducted in Serbo-Croat. It is thought that the DC-9 struck the underside of the Trident fuselage, ahead of the wing leading edge. The DC-9 caught fire almost immediately and burned for over an hour after crashing. The Trident went into a flat spin, throwing out passengers and cabin fittings before crashing about five miles away from the DC-9. NBAA highlights Cessna announced three new Cita tion models at the US National Business Aircraft Association's annual meeting and convention at Denver on September 14-16. Commercial develop ments of the Sabreliner were des cribed by Lockheed, and General Electric has launched a commercial derivative of its TF34 turbofan. Designated CF34, it is rated at 7,9901b to keep below the new laws applicable to engines of 8,000 in thrust and above. Aerospatiale's SA.35Q helicopter with Starflex rotor and single LTS-101 engine was shown for the first time in America. A full report of the NBAA exhibition begins in Flight next week. Tornado snags, says sacked scientist Mr Stephen Thornley, a scientist formerly employed by the Aircraft Research Association of Bedford but dismissed after describing alleged performance shortfalls in the Panavia Tornado in a letter to the London Guardian, is claiming unfair dismissal before a Bedford industrial tribunal. SENSOR Pratt & Whitney can be expected to align itself increasingly with Rolls-Royce beyond the joint pro jects such as Pegasus, JT10D and RB.401. In one of the most signifi cant aviation policy developments since the 1939-1945 war, a new Atlantic aero-engine partnership is now a real long-term prospect. The Dowty variable-pitch cowled fan driven by a Rolls-Royce Con tinental piston engine, revealed at Farnborough, is to be test-flown next year on a Britten-Norman Islander. Two fans will be installed. Quietness and fuel economy are the primary objectives, and the fan is thought likely to give the piston engine a new long-term lease of life. Newbury Manflier is the name of a new 139ft-span man-powered air craft by Rear-Admiral Nick Good' hart and his associates. Weighing 1601b empty and 4601b gross, and with an aspect ratio of 29, it will be powered and controlled by two pilots in booms 70ft apart. An attempt on the Kremer prize will be made soon after the first flight in early 1977. Lockheed Is willing to discuss the possibility of co-operation with British Aerospace as a subcon tractor on the BAC X-ll. Now that the company has the TriStar 500 launching decision out of the way, it is keen to consider the very large market for a smaller class of new-technology subsonic airliner. Hawker Siddeley's Coastguarder will be in full production, fully equipped, in time for the Paris 1977 show. The aircraft will have tip-to- tip fuel, a tactical air display for the flight crew as well as the ob servers, and will have a duration of up to llhr. Hawker Siddeley Manchester's aerodynamic proto type of the AEW Nimrod, a modi fied ex-Boscombe Down Comet 4, will be flying in the early summer of 1977. Panavia, the three-nation industrial consortium formed to manage the Tornado, says that in 1971 the ARA was commissioned to carry out wind- tunnel work to pin-point potential aerodynamic difficulties. Mr Thornley suggested that there might be exces sive transonic drag. His proposed remedy was not adopted. Panavia says that it is fully satisfied with the flight-test results to date, which have included transonic; testing, and insists that its confidence was justified earlier this year when the British, West German and Italian Governments placed an initial produc tion contract.
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