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Aviation History
1994
1994 - 0059.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT CITYJET TAKES ON VIRGIN DUBLIN SERVICE Cityjet of Ireland was due to begin a five-times-daily London City-Dublin service, operating as a Virgin Atlantic franchise, on 10 January. The airline is using two leased British Aerospace 146-200s for the service, which runs just twice daily at weekends. Cityjet pays Virgin a fee for using its identity and Virgin provides a wide range of services to the new carrier. -It has no equity in Cityjet. Meanwhile, Belgium's VLM has become the first non-UK airline to take advantage of European liberalisation to operate an intra-UK service. It is flying Antwerp- London City-Liverpool twice a day, using Fokker 50s. Engine implicated in Baikal Air accident BY ALEXANDER VELOVICH IN MOSCOW ABaikal Air Tupolev Tu-154M crashed on 3 January, 11km (6nm) from Irkutsk Airport, Siberia, killing at least 120 people — the worst accident in the CIS nations for nine years. The aircraft (RA-85656) was on a scheduled flight from Irkutsk to Moscow when it came down in snow-covered farmland 12min after take-off. One person on the ground was also killed. The crew reported fire in the number two (central) engine during the climb, 30km from Conway ousted from America West... A power struggle within America West Airlines' board of directors has ended in the departure of president and chief executive Michael Con way, one of the carrier's foun ders. Phoenix, Arizona-based America West's board immedi ately elected Maurice Myers, formerly head of Aloha Air lines, as president and chief operating officer. Chairman William Franke — chief rival to Conway — was named chief executive officer. Conway's departure results from a year-long battle with Franke over the best way to bring the airline out of bank ruptcy protection. In Decem ber, an investment group led by the Pritzker family of Chi cago, owner of the Hyatt hotel chain, and recruited by Con way, dropped its bid for Amer ica West, reportedly because of conflicts with Franke. Another bid is pending from the New York-based Steinhardt investment group, which has offered as much as $250 mil lion for control of the carrier. The airline, which has been under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since June 1991, has until 10 February to accept bids or propose a separate plan to emerge from Chapter 11 on its own (Flight International, 5-11 January). Myers joined Aloha Airlines in 1983, rising to president and chief executive two years later. From 1975 to 1982, he held various financial and marketing posts at Continental Airlines. Franke says: "We are very pleased, and fortunate, to at tract him to America West." • ...as Howard walks away from TWA William Howard has re signed as chairman and chief executive of TWA in a top-level management shake- up. He is replaced by Donald Craib, a former chairman and chief executive of Allstate In surance Group, but an airline novice. Vice-chairman Glenn Zander, the TWA veteran ex pected to play a key role in TWA's recovery under How ard, has also quit. Howard, a former head of Piedmont Airlines, was brought out of retirement to improve the fortunes of TWA. In a statement, Howard says that his primary goal was to lead the financially ailing US carrier out of bankruptcy court "...and, with that task now accomplished, I have no doubt that the company will con tinue to grow and prosper". Howard's resignation report edly results from tension within the carrier's board of directors as to the proper course to follow. He has been described publicly as a weak leader, not able to give the airline direction, and as a fine manager, whose mission has now been accomplished. Craib was one of 15 new directors named to TWA's board after the airline emerged from bankruptcy-court protec tion several months ago. TWA recorded a $61 million loss in the third quarter of 1993, when other US carriers were recovering, and a further defi cit for the last quarter is ex pected. TWA officials have predicted that the airline will regain profitability in 1995. • Irkutsk at 13,000ft (4,000m), and requested a return for emergency landing. Soon after wards, the crew reported power loss in the other two engines (all three engines are tail- mounted) and malfunctioning flight controls. The aircraft is reported by different sources to have had a hydraulic fault at take-off and, possibly, to have been over laden. Investigators found that there were at least four more passengers than manifested. The manifest showed 111 passengers, five flightcrew and four stewardesses. The captain had completed 13,000h total flight time with 5,000h on Tu- 154s. The co-pilot had flown almost 17,000h in total. The chief navigator of the regional directorate of civil aviation was on board as an inspector pilot. The most likely cause, say the investigators, seems to be me chanical failure of the central Perm Aviadvigatel D-30KU-154 turbofan, which had just un dergone major overhaul. The earlier Tu-154s, equipped with Kuznetzov NK-8 engines, were known not to be particularly reliable, but the newer Perm- powered Tu-154Ms were con sidered to be one of the safest Russian airliners. About 1,000 Tu-154s have been built. • On 26 December, 1993, an Antonov An-26 of Krasnodar Air Enterprises crashed at Gyumri Airport in Armenia. The aircraft, which was carry ing a mix of passengers and freight, was on a night ap proach in fog, with visibility at 200m. The pilot attempted a late go-around, but the aircraft hit the runway with its tail ramp and crashed. Although the manifest stated that 11 people were on board, investigators found 36 bodies in the wreckage. The aircraft was loaded with hand-carried cans of petrol and two poorly secured cars. Armenia has suf fered a severe fuel shortage. • See Air Safety Analysis, P13. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 12 - 18 January. 1994 9
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