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Aviation History
1989
1989 - 3021.PDF
OPERATIONS: AIR TRANSPORT Pilots attempted mid-Atlantic near miss cover-up Pilots in the vicinity of a near miss in mid-Atlantic attempted to cover up the inci dent, according to a Canadian Aviation Safety Board report. An undetected inertia! naviga tion system (INS) input error by the crew of a Delta Air Lines Lockheed TriStar led to a near collision over the mid-Atlantic with a Continental Airlines Boeing 747. Immediately after the incident, which was outside radar range, a number of aircraft crews discussed on VHF whether it had to be reported, and several—strongly criticised by the Canadian authorities—en couraged the crew of Continental Flight 25 not to report it. Continental 25 did report it to its management as it neared New York. The recording of the conversation with other pilots was preserved by another crew. The board says that neither crew, nor the crews of more than 20 other aircraft in the area, reported the incident to the ATC. According to the report, the VHF discussion between crews contained "... many unprofes sional remarks", and "... it was evident that several crews were content to leave the occurrence unreported". The board says it is "very concerned by the attitude of the various flight crews, [and] is seeking the support of the major professional pilot associa tions, air transport associations, and government regulators to help ensure the continued will ingness of flight crews to report safety-related matters." Delta Flight 37 from London Gatwick to Cincinnati passed less than 100ft below Continental Flight 25 from Gatwick to Newark at flight level 310 on July 8, 1987. The TriStar flight data recorder detected the 747's wake turbulence. The board says the TriStar's position reports were normal until longitude 30° west, when it turned left 26°, instead of the 10° indicated on the flight log, and the captain passed an estimated elapsed time to 40° west of 61 minutes, based on the flight management system informa tion. Although the flight log showed that the leg should take 45 minutes, the error was not noticed by the crew. The controller at. Gander noticed the time difference, but did not notify the crew because he judged separation would not be affected. The Board accepts that he was not required to inform the crew, but recom mends that ATC should, in future, challenge pilots if an esti mate is out by more than five minutes. The practice has since been adopted at Gander. After the incident, the TriStar continued to deviate to the South, eventually becoming 80 miles off track before turning to regain the assigned track just before reaching 40° west. The captain inserted a new INS way- point for 40° west which cancel led the previous entry and left him unable to confirm whether the INS had malfunctioned or had been programmed incor rectly. The Board says that the crew did not follow established INS cross-check procedures, but adds that Delta's manual may not have clearly conveyed the mandatory requirement to cross-check at every waypoint. The manual has been revised. • Update gives Egyptian air traffic controllers wider view Egypt selects Thomson-CSF ATC French electronics group Thomson-CSF has been selected by the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority to expand and modernise the country's air traf fic control system . The FFr550 million turnkey contract calls for new radar and communications equipment to extend coverage across the entire country. Additional VOR/DMEs will be installed, and the national ATCC at Cairo will be re-fitted, as will the tower at Cairo Airport. Thomson-CSF will also supply an autonomous satellite commu nication system to link remote radar sites to the ATCC. • Lufthansa orders grow Lufthansa has ordered 11 more ^Boeing 757s and confirmed a further 20 Boeing 737s. Eight of the 757s will go to newly formed leasing company Lufthansa Leasing, and the remainder to the Condor charter subsidiary, for delivery from May 1991. The first six 737s will be -300s, also for delivery from May 1991, and the other 14 will be -500s, although they could be converted to -300 orders. Lufthansa has 129 aircraft on order and 82 on option. The deal takes total 737 sales to 2,657. Lufthansa's board has now approved the previously announced order for 20 A321s plus 20 options. • ATR72 receives certification ATR has received certification Lior its ATR72 from the French Direction G£n£rale de l'Aviation Civile less than a year after the airliner's maiden flight. The ATR72 goes into commercial operation with Karair, a subsidiary of Finnish flag-carrier Finnair, later this month. The French-Italian regional aircraft manufacturing consor tium has firm orders for 228 ATR42s, plus 46 on option, and has sold 82 stretched ATR72s, with 45 on option. The present production rate is 47 aircraft a year, but is set to rise to 70 by 1993, and to 90 towards the end of the century. • Airbus brings Super Guppy in-house Airbus Industrie has taken over ahe operation of the four Super Guppy aircraft used for component transport which, until now, have been flown and maintained by UTA subsidiary Aeromaritime. The Super Guppy fleet currently flies about 3,200 hours a year, carrying components and partial assemblies from Airbus' UK and German production plants to Toulouse. A newly formed Transport Directorate headed by Dietrich Knospe, who is promoted to senior vice-president transport, will now be responsible for the administration, flying, and line maintenance of the aircraft. An unknown number of UTA staff are joining Airbus, and the hand-over of flying duties is intended to be complete by the end of the year. Airbus says that, from 1993, it will need additional transport capacity to cope with higher production rates and the launch of the A330/340 series. It is now studying possible solutions. The company says it has access to at least one more Boeing KC-97 airframe, which is the basis of the Super Guppy conversion, but is also considering surface trans port, particularly for parts of the smaller A320 and new stretched A321. • FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 7 October 1989 13
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