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Aviation History
1986
1986 - 0292.PDF
WORLD NEWS All survive Shorts 360 crash CASTLE DONINGTON ~ According to initial state ments from the captain of the Aer Lingus Shorts 360 which crashed on the approach to the UK's East Midlands Airport on February 1, the pilot no longer had full control of his aircraft from the time it was about 700ft above the ground until it crashed. The aircraft came to rest in a field two miles short of runway 09. The reason for the loss of control is not yet known. The 360 (EI-BEM) was on a scheduled flight from Dublin to East Midlands, UK, and was carrying out an ILS approach to runway 09 at 1850hr Z, in darkness. The aircraft hit high tension elec tricity cables, then trees, and came to rest in a field, facing the opposite direction to its heading during the approach. The gear was badly damaged and the left wing torn off, but the cabin suffered hardly any damage. There were only minor injuries among the crew of three and the 33 passengers. The weather was reported as: visibility 5,000m, wind 050° at 20kt gusting, cloud 6 octas at 600ft, and 6 at 1,400ft. Passengers report severe turbulence, but it is not clear whether that is what they felt, or whether it was the aircraft's reaction when "out of control" and when hitting objects during its approach to the ground. Safer GA in USA WASHINGTON D.C. ~ General aviation in the USA had its safest year yet in 1985, defined as accidents per 100,000hr flown. There were fewer accidents and fatalities, despite an increase in the number of hours flown. John Baker, president of the US Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, says the record is "exemplary". Nevertheless, a higher proportion of accidents was fatal, rising from 15 • 4 per cent in 1984 to 17-8 per cent last year. Accidents in 1985 fell by almost 9 per cent to 2,742, and fatalities were down by 16 per cent to 937 in 1985. The number of hours flown rose by less than 4 per cent from 31-5 million hours to 32 million hours, according to pre liminary National Trans portation Safety Board figures. The accident rate per 100,000hr fell to 8-56, down from 9-56 in 1984 and some 30 per cent lower than ten years ago. A dark cloud is the lack of progress in reducing the probability of any accident being fatal. Five of the past six years have seen more than one accident in six resulting in at least one fatality. This proportion had occurred only once in the preceding five years. EFA nations discuss French offer PARIS National Armaments Direc tors (NADs) of Britain, Italy, Spain, and West Germany were due to meet in France on February 7 to discuss possible French participation in the European Fighter Aircraft (EFA) programme, reports Gilbert Sedbon. The offer to take up a 5 or 10 per cent share in EFA The aircraft suffered most damage in hitting electricity cables and trees before it "hit the ground with a tremendous thump", as a passenger puts it was originally made by French President Frangois Mitterand during a visit to Bonn last November. France hopes to secure some indus trial participation in EFA, and at the same time gain participation by British and other European industrialists in its own fighter aircraft project, the Rafale. Yesterday's meeting was to be held with French Defence Ministry armaments division chief Emile Blanc. "We believe we can make a very useful contribution. And we certainly welcome European participation in our 8 • 5 tonne combat aircraft programme," says Blanc. France believes that there is room for collabo ration on the radar and other components amounting to 30 or 40 per cent of the total costs of the two aircraft. Proposals for joint prod uction of components for both EFA and Rafale will be presented to the Independent European Programme Group (IEPG) on April 28 in Madrid. Arianespace announces next launch PARIS Arianespace has announced the launch dates for the next two missions. Ariane V16, delayed from its original January 16 launch by a leaky second-stage water tank, will now be sent aloft on February 21. In its pay load bay will be the French earth resources satellite Spot 1, and Sweden's Viking. Ariane V17, with Gstar II and Brasilsat S2 aboard, will lift off on March 12. This will be a night launch, and the first from the new ELA 2 launch pad. If successful, the V16 launch will be the first for seven months. In September the V15 mission was lost following a second-stage hydrogen valve failure. Builder of the second-stage water tank, MBB Erno, says it has still not ascertained the cause of the leak, and is work ing "round the clock" to do so. It has shipped two new tanks to Kourou, French Guyana, which have been thoroughly leak-tested. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 8 February 1986
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