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Aviation History
1990
1990 - 2759.PDF
OPERATIONS: AIR TRANSPORT split pin blamed 7 Qtilit nin blamed JAL strike will Missing 74 Boeing has identified the cause of the hydraulics failure which forced a United Airlines 747-400 to land in Los Angeles without its nose and body main gear down (Flight International, 5-11 September). The company believes that a split pin was not correctly in stalled during assembly, allowing a castellated nut in the number one hydraulic actuation system to unlock. This disabled the hydraulic pump which activates the body main and nose gears on the 747. Inspection of the United air- The Bedek division of Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) has completed the conversion of the first Lufthansa 747 Combi into full cargo configuration. The air craft was delivered on 30 August. Delivery was almost three months late because of an initial shortage of technicians and other problems that slowed the first phases of the progamme. Changes in the original plans that were requested by Lufthansa also caused delays. "This is the first 747 conversion performed and some problems have been encountered, but the client asked for some changes that were not included in the original plans, and that also slowed the work," says IAI. Work on the Lufthansa 747 Combi began in December 1989. The conversion included the in stallation of a main-deck cargo handling system, increasing the floor strength and the installa tion of a main-deck smoke detec tion system. The original air conditioning system has been modified. The new configuration enables the 747 to carry different combinations of 3.05m (10ft)- high 3.2m X 2.4m (125in x 96in) palllets and 6.1m (20ft)- long containers. The basic contract for the conversion of the Combi to full freight configuration cost $6 mil lion. Lufthansa will pay for the extra changes that were added craft revealed that a similar nut in the number four hydraulic system was also missing its lock ing pin and was on the verge of working loose, according to Ben Cosgrove, Boeing senior vice- president of engineering. The number four system controls the 747's wing landing gear and main flaps. Boeing is attempting to iden tify the mechanic who installed the system on the United aircraft, to discover whether the pin was not installed, or whether it had worked loose in service. The air craft was delivered to United in after the signing of the contract. A second Lufthansa Combi is under conversion in the Bedek factory at Ben Gurion inter national airport. Delivery of the second aircraft is planned for November. A contract with Northwest for LAUDA BOEING Lauda Air has placed firm orders for a Boeing 767-300 and two 737-400s, and con firmed a previously un announced order for a 737-400. The Austrian Trans port Department has also just granted an unlimited operat ing licence to Lauda, though it January this year, and had com pleted around 400 landings successfully. The United crew was unable to lower the gear manually on ap proach into Los Angeles, because pressure had been retained in the number one system. Cosgrove says: "When there is pressure in the system, you have to bleed,the hydraulic system before you can drop the gear manually". The aircraft stopped with the forward fuselage resting on the landing gear doors and was almost com pletely undamaged in the incident. •• the conversion of two 747s from full passenger to full cargo configuration has been frozen for a second review. Another US airline is currently negotiating with IAI for the conversion of three 747s to full cargo configuration. D ORDERBOOK will have to apply for route approvals. ANSETT AIRBUS Ansett Airlines of Australia have signed firm orders for ten CFM56-powered Airbus Industrie A321s, becoming the first Australasian customer for this stretched A320. Ansett al- halt operation Japan Air Lines QAL) will soon be receiving Boeing 747-400s which it cannot operate for lack of trained pilots. A JAL aircrew union consist ing of 1,320 co-pilots and flight engineers opposes the two-man crew concept and has ordered its co-pilots to strike when told to undertake 747-400 conversion training. They say there should be a three-man crew including a flight engineer as on the earlier 747s. So far JAL's fleet of seven 747- 400s is flown by captains only, but it is now impossible to expand the operating fleet under this arrangement. Three more of the type are due to be delivered to JAL before the year ends. Problems are inevitable because it takes 15 weeks to complete co pilot conversion training. • Soviet-Alaska deal on flights Soviet and American officials have signed an agreement which provides for direct flights between Anchorage, Alaska, and the Soviet far eastern city of Magadan. Passenger flights will be car ried out by Aeroflot Tupolev Tu- 154s, and cargo flights by Douglas DC-8s. The journey time is about four hours. The agreement also provides for Anchorage and Magadan to be used as stop-over airports for flights between the USA and Moscow, Leningrad, Alma-Ata and Khabarovsk. D ready operates eight A320s and the company has another four on order. UAS AIRBUS Leasing company United Avi ation Services (UAS) has or dered two Airbus Industrie A310-300s and "committed to acquire" three A300-600s. Bedek delivers 747 cargo conversion ETHIOPIAN SCORES BOEING FIRST This Boeing 757 freighter recently delivered to Ethiopian Airlines is the first built for a non-US carrier, and Ethiopian is the first passenger airline in the world to have ordered a 757'freighter—all the other owners are pure freight companies. This aircraft has a 36t payload. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 12-18 September 1990
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