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Aviation History
1991
1991 - 2612.PDF
HEADLINES JAL and ANA 747s have both suffered duet blowouts JAL 747-200 suffers air-duct blowout RAF Harrier crash not linked with electrical faults ARoyal Air Force British Aer ospace Harrier GR.5 crashed on take-off from RAF Gutersloh, Germany, on 30 September. The aircraft had been modified with a new electrical system by a British Aerospace team, in an effort to rectify problems that have grounded RAF Harrier GR.5/7s since 29 July (Flight International, 18 September). The pilot ejected during the take-off roll, sustaining minor injuries. The aircraft went into the Ems canal just outside the airfield. The RAF will not com ment on the cause of the acci dent, but sources indicate that the aircraft did not have any electrical system problems. The grounding order followed several incidents when Harriers suffered in-flight total electrical failures and had to divert and land using battery power. On 29 May, a Harrier GR.7 pilot ejected near Gutersloh after his aircraft suffered a total electrical failure. On 16 July, a Harrier GR.7 had a total electrical failure and elec trical-system fire near Gutersloh. The pilot landed the aircraft and the fire was extinguished. On 29 July, a Harrier GR.5 caught fire in flight after an electrical fail ure, and landed at RAF Witter ing, with severe fire damage. • Thailand cleared for more F-16s The Royal Thai Air Force should receive its second squadron of 18 General Dynam ics F-16 Fighting Falcons this month, says RTAF commander Air Marshal Kaset Rojananil. Delivery of the second batch was originally scheduled for last February, but was halted by the military coup in Thailand, which led to suspension of US aid. Kaset says the air force will shortly gain government ap proval for a B19 million (S760 million) purchasing plan which will fund the F-16s and 36 AMX strike fighters (Flight Interna tional, 2 October). • AJapan Airlines (JAL) Boeing 747-200 was forced to re turn to Tokyo's Narita airport last week after suffering an air duct failure which left a 1m x 70cm hole in the aircraft. The duct failure, which blew off an external panel located beneath the port wing, happened as the aircraft climbed through 16,000ft (5,000m) en route to Chicago O'Hare. Pneumatic duct pressure dropped to about one- sixth of its normal level, but there was no cabin depressurisa- tion and no injury. The failure was the latest in a series of incidents involving both 747s and 767s, which prompted the US Federal Avia tion Administration (FAA) to issue an airworthiness directive One of the Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines on Trans World Airlines Boeing 767 N603TW was changed at Shan non Airport, Ireland, following a diversion from an eastbound transatlantic flight on 15 Sep tember. The aircraft was flying at about 37,000ft (11,300m) when an engine problem is reported to have caused the 767 to lose height, descending to 24,000ft (AD) in September 1990 man dating inspection of duct seams. This was followed by an order from the Japanese Transport Ministry requiring inspection before 5,850 cycles. The aircraft involved in the latest incident (JA8161) was de livered in June 1983, and had accumulated 38,786h and 3,376 cycles. On 31 August, an All Nippon 767 had a similar fail ure, as did a JAL 747 in 1987. JAL says that it is replacing air ducts in all its Boeing 747s with new ducts which are 40% thicker. It has so far modified 36 of 59 aircraft, and JA8161 was to receive new ducts at its next "M" check in Spring next year. "This incident has pre-empted that," says JAL. • before control was regained. At the beginning of October, TWA was continuing to investi gate the cause of the problem after the engine had been re turned to Kansas City. • The thrust reversers of a British Airways Airbus A3 20 were locked out after a 4 Octo ber London-Aberdeen flight. The crew reported a status message. "No 2 engine reversible". • USAir wants 40 Boeing 757200s USAir says it is to acquire up to 40 Boeing 757-200s, but will also delay 15 Boeing 737 deliveries from 1993/94 to be tween 1995 and 1997. The carrier is leasing ten ex- Eastern Airlines 757s from Gen eral Electric Capital, then will purchase 15 from Boeing for delivery in 1993/94 and a fur ther 15 from 1995 to 1997. President Seth Schofield says it will make a pre-tax loss in 1991 or more than $500 million and is to discuss cost-cutting measures with staff. • Germany wants Soviets to join Airbus Industrie German parliamentary secre tary of state and aerospace co-ordinator at the Federal Min istry of the Ecomony Erich Riedl called for Soviet involvement in future Airbus Industrie projects. Riedl, in an interview with the Suddeutsche Zeitung, said that on future developments such as the proposed 600-seat Airbus A350, Soviet aerospace manufacturers should be involved at least at the subcontractor level. He warned that in the wake of the Cold War the European aerospace industry could not remain a "closed shop", and should allow eastern companies to participate. He recognised, however, that the likes of Soviet design bu reaux such as Tupolev, Yakovlev and Ilyushin will have to re structure substantially before entering into collaborative pro grammes in Western Europe. Restructuring would involve a move toward part private ownership instead of being wholly state-held. Even allowing for this, Riedl thinks participa tion is possible by the middle of this decade. Soviet participation on the A350, or on the Supersonic Commercial Transport, would not necessarily see a Soviet com pany becoming a full partner in the consortium, Riedl says. • TWA 767 loses engine 6 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 9 - 15 October, 1991
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